World Cup in Ruhpolding: The Norwegian way: Preuß at home in the yellow jersey

Franziska Preuß doesn’t dwell on small setbacks for long. “You have to put that aside now and then be back at the start in Ruhpolding with a breath of fresh air,” said Germany’s best biathlete before the second part of the World Cup home games. Things didn’t go well for the 30-year-old in Oberhof last week, but because her lead in the overall World Cup was enormous, the former world champion will be wearing the yellow jersey of the overall leader again in her home town on Thursday (2.20 p.m./ARD and Eurosport). to. This is a special moment in her long career.

Not far from the Chiemgau Arena, she and her long-time partner Simon Schempp built a wooden house. Five years ago she celebrated her first World Cup victory in the mass start in Ruhpolding – and after many health setbacks, she had to wait until this winter until numbers two and three finally followed.

Winning the overall World Cup is not the big goal

“She has shown incredibly consistent performances,” said sports director Felix Bitterling. Six podium places in a row put Preuß well ahead of the competition in the overall standings, ranks 28 (sprint) and 20 (pursuit) as well as a penalty lap in the mixed relay in Oberhof are recorded as slip-ups. “Somehow the week wasn’t great,” said Preuß looking back: “But it doesn’t help, that’s biathlon and we all know that.”

In the individual over 15 kilometers in Ruhpolding things should be different. It is already clear that she will also wear the yellow bib in the mass start on Sunday; the Frenchwoman Lou Jeanmonnot cannot make up the 116 points deficit. Becoming the first German to win the overall World Cup since Laura Dahlmeier in 2016/2017 is not a goal for Preuß.

The focus is on the World Championships in February in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, and the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Preuß trained in preparation for the season at both locations – without her teammates. But with partner Schempp, who was a little more successful than his girlfriend with four World Cup gold medals before the end of his career in 2021. “I stuck to my guns, I took part in almost no courses,” said Preuß in the “Sportschau” winter sports podcast.

A loner in training

While the rest of the team trained together, Preuss went her own way. In the past, she had often become ill after high-altitude training camps. “I’m a bit lacking in conviction,” said Preuß about the group training: “I’ve been in the World Cup for eleven or twelve years now, and for me it’s no longer any motivation to go to official courses.”

This is not a problem for the association – on the contrary. “Franzi is very honest. You can talk openly with her about positive and negative things, that makes the relationship between coach and athlete very easy,” said coach Sverre Olsbu Röiseland to ZDF: “Franzi is always open to new things. She wants to be responsible be for their own training, many Norwegian athletes also have this attitude.”

The stars from Scandinavia also like to stay alone and decide for themselves how, when and where they train. The Norwegian Röiseland, husband of record world champion Marte Olsbu Röiseland, maintains an impeccable relationship with Preuß. The oldest member of the team gets the freedom she wants. She repays the trust with performance and is currently in the form of her life.

No compromises for the medal dream

“I made few compromises in training. I really did my thing and trained a lot on my own,” said Preuss. Three years ago she was sick at home and missed the home game in Ruhpolding, completely frustrated. She was never in top shape at either the 2022 Olympics or the subsequent World Championships and was already thinking about quitting.

An operation on the paranasal sinuses in the spring put an end to her long history of suffering. “I’m glad that something was found medically that was the reason why I was so vulnerable,” said Preuss. Now a cold is only a problem for a few days at most, not several weeks.

Strengthened like this, she sets her sights on winning her second individual medal at a major event. Almost ten years ago she achieved this in Kontiolahti with silver in the mass start; a few days earlier, at the age of 21, she had won her only gold medal in the relay. Repeating that would be a dream. On the other hand, perhaps even wearing the yellow jersey until the World Cup is more of a nice bonus: “Every race in which I can run in it is somehow a success.”