Overview
- Coach Erik Lesser and the Deutscher Skiverband have decided not to send junior women to the IBU Junior Cup and will instead stage shared training camps and rely on the Deutschlandpokal as the primary selection series for the Junior World Championships.
- Selection will be transparent: all squad members will train together, race in the same Deutschlandpokal events, and be measured by common reference values to name the five Junior World Championship starters.
- The junior squad will skip early senior qualification races and take a preseason training block in Beitostølen, Norway, to build base fitness free from the short-term pressure of fighting for World Cup or IBU-Cup starts.
- Lesser and DSV staff have held talks with IBU-Cup coaches about a phased transition that would give juniors time to adapt and help rejuvenate the IBU-Cup by prioritizing younger athletes, but those plans remain under development.
- The change aims to trade short-term exposure for a steadier path to senior ranks, a model Lesser cites from Norway and France, and keeps the immediate goal of having the team in medal form for the Junior World Championships.