A Norwegian victory on French soil! Before the final shooting, few would have believed that Maren Kirkeeide could still win — but let’s take it step by step.
The list of contenders began to thin out right after the first shooting. Dorothea Wierer and Elvira Oeberg both missed twice and were immediately out of podium contention. After the second prone stage, Hanna Oeberg, Anna Magnusson, Suvi Minkkinen, Julia Simon and Karoline Knotten were also eliminated from the fight for victory.
Following the second shooting, Ella Halvarsson emerged as the sole leader, with only two French athletes — Justine Braisaz and Lou Jeanmonnot — able to match her pace.
After the third shooting, the contenders were reduced to Braisaz, Jeanmonnot, Camille Bened, Johansen and Passler. The French leaders quickly began to pull away, building a 10-second advantage. Meanwhile, 25 seconds behind, Kirkeeide, Preuss, Baserga and Voigt were waiting for mistakes ahead.
Then came a dramatic twist. Both French leaders missed one shot each, and among the chasers only Camille Bened managed to hit all the targets. She left the range in the lead, holding a 15-second advantage over Maren Kirkeeide. Close behind the Norwegian were Braisaz and Jeanmonnot, both with one miss. Preuss, Passler, Baserga and Johansen were right on Jeanmonnot’s heels but could not stay with the overall World Cup leader.
In the end, those 15 seconds were not enough for Bened. Almost a kilometer before the finish, the young Frenchwoman was caught and passed by the entire chasing trio, with Kirkeeide moving into the lead. The Norwegian held her position all the way to the finishing straight, and with a slight downhill in the final meters, even a three-meter gap proved impossible to close.
It was a tough outcome for Camille Bened — but her victory will come sooner or later.
| Click on the flag to select team | № | Shooting | - | Time | ||
| 1 |  |
Maren Kirkeeide | 5 | 1+0+0+0 | 1 | 32:53.2 |
| 2 |  |
Lou Jeanmonnot | 1 | 0+0+0+1 | 1 | +0.3 |
| 3 | |
Justine Braisaz-bouchet | 10 | 0+0+0+1 | 1 | +0.8 |
| 4 | |
Camille Bened | 7 | 0+0+0+0 | 0 | +5.7 |
| 5 |  |
Amy Baserga | 14 | 0+0+1+0 | 1 | +15.5 |
| 6 |  |
Franziska Preuss | 25 | 0+0+1+0 | 1 | +18.0 |
| 7 | |
Vanessa Voigt | 15 | 0+0+1+0 | 1 | +19.6 |
| 8 | |
Offigstad Knotten Karoline | 12 | 1+1+0+0 | 2 | +20.0 |
| 9 |  |
Ella Halvarsson | 13 | 0+0+2+0 | 2 | +20.2 |
| 10 | |
Anna Weidel | 16 | 0+1+1+0 | 2 | +20.3 |
| 11 |  |
Rebecca Passler | 28 | 0+0+0+1 | 1 | +21.8 |
| 12 | |
Krakstad Johansen Marthe | 30 | 0+0+0+1 | 1 | +22.1 |
| 13 |  |
Deedra Irwin | 24 | 1+0+1+0 | 2 | +22.7 |
| 14 | |
Hanna Oeberg | 6 | 0+2+1+1 | 4 | +41.9 |
| 15 | |
Oceane Michelon | 11 | 1+0+1+1 | 3 | +46.0 |
| 16 |  |
Tereza Vobornikova | 27 | 0+0+2+1 | 3 | +1:02.6 |
| 17 |  |
Regina Ermits | 23 | 2+0+0+0 | 2 | +1:08.3 |
| 18 |  |
Polona Klemencic | 21 | 0+1+1+1 | 3 | +1:17.5 |
| 19 | |
Karin Oeberg Elvira | 8 | 3+1+0+1 | 5 | +1:23.0 |
| 20 | |
Anna Magnusson | 3 | 0+2+1+1 | 4 | +1:23.2 |
| 21 | |
Julia Simon | 18 | 1+1+1+1 | 4 | +1:23.5 |
| 22 |  |
Paulina Batovska Fialkova | 19 | 0+1+1+2 | 4 | +1:43.4 |
| 23 | |
Jeanne Richard | 20 | 0+2+1+0 | 3 | +1:43.7 |
| 24 |  |
Suvi Minkkinen | 4 | 1+1+1+1 | 4 | +1:46.2 |
| 25 |  |
Anna Andexer | 29 | 2+1+0+1 | 4 | +2:13.2 |
| 26 | |
Lucie Charvatova | 17 | 1+0+2+3 | 6 | +2:19.0 |
| 27 | |
Dorothea Wierer | 2 | 2+0+0+2 | 4 | +2:29.4 |
| 28 |  |
Maya Cloetens | 22 | 0+0+2+1 | 3 | +2:42.0 |
| 29 | |
Theresa Hauser Lisa | 9 | 2+0+2+1 | 5 | +2:45.1 |
| 30 | |
Marketa Davidova | 26 | 1+3+1+2 | 7 | +2:59.5 |
