Biathlon World Cup: scores change and scraps disappear

The new regulations for the new season have been published by IBU in recent days. The World Championships will no longer be considered valid competitions for the award of points for the crystal ball. Had it been held with these rules, the 2020 World Cup would not have been won by Dorothea Wierer who would have finished in third place.

Tuesday 25 October 2022 6 minutes reading time

In order to better reward the victories and placements in the very first positions in a scenario that for years has been rewarding more the regularity of the placements, the International Biathlon Federation has revised, in view of the new season, the criteria for assigning points in the World Cup races. . A victory, which until last season awarded 60 points, will guarantee 90 points from now on; the runner-up will receive 75 points (they were 54) and the third 60 (they were 48). If until last season a victory and a retirement were equivalent to two eleventh places, from the season that will start in a month they will be equivalent to two fifth places. Furthermore, there will no longer be any rejects which, while on the one hand allowed a minimum of protection from seasonal ailments and bad days, made the rankings during the year difficult to read. A third change concerns the fact that World Championships races will no longer award points for the World Cup standings. While aware of how the new rules will direct tactical choices, both in terms of calendar and in terms of different race conduct, especially in the last stages. an attempt was made to simulate the effects of the new regulations on the general classification of the women's World Cup, the most fought one that often saw the awarding of the crystal ball in the last stage if not in the last race. 2022 Old New M.Roeiseland 957 M.Roeiseland 1255 E.Oeberg 823 E.Oeberg 1014 L.T.Hauser 684 L.T.Hauser 836 The last World Cup, perhaps the least fought in recent years, would not have seen any change in terms of the podium also thanks to the fact that, being an Olympic year, all the scores collected will also be available with the new regulation. 2021 Old New T. Eckhoff 1152 T. Eckhoff 1402 M.Roiseland 963 M.Roeiseland 1155 F. Preuss 840 H. Oeberg 1034 H. Oeberg 826 L.T.Hauser 869 D. Wierer 821 D. Wierer 862 L.T.Hauser 817 F. Preuss 848 First two well-defined positions in 2021, with a fight that ultimately saw four biathlete in space to score points. If regularity rewarded Franziska Preuss who got on the podium, the new rules would penalize her up to a sixth place due to a game bag where she picked up a second and two third positions during the season. To benefit above all would be Hanna Oeberg strong of two victories, five second places and two third places that would overtake the German as would have done also Hauser (1-2-4) and Wierer (1-2-1). 2020 Old New D. Wierer 793 T. Eckhoff 956 T. Eckhoff 786 D. Herrmann 875 D. Herrmann 745 D. Wierer 738 H. Oeberg 741 H. Oeberg 719 Ranking upset in 2020; if it is true that not considering the World Championships, where Wierer with two victories and a second place built the treasure that he defended with his teeth to Nove Mesto and Kontiolathi, then benefiting from the cancellation of Oslo, would have already given the crystal ball to Tiril Eckhoff . it should be emphasized that, in any case, with the new rules the 7 victories, the 2 seconds and the third place in the season of the Norwegian would have forced Dorothea to surrender (2-1-3). The blue would also be overtaken by Denise Hermann.

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