The

2017–18 Biathlon World Cup The 2017–18 Biathlon World Cup (BWC) was a multi-race series over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. The season started on 24 November 2017 in Östersund, Sweden and ended on 25 March 2018 in Tyumen, Russia. Th ...

– Mass start Women started on Sunday 17 December 2017 in

Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...

and will finish on Sunday 25 March 2018 in

Tyumen Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura ( ...

. The defending titlist is

Gabriela Koukalová Gabriela may refer to: * Gabriela (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian feminine given name * ''Gabriela'' (1942 film), a Czech film * ''Gabriela'' (1950 film), a German film * ''Gabriela'' (1983 film), a Brazilian film * ''Gabriela' ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Competition format

In the mass start, all biathletes start at the same time and the first across the finish line wins. In this competition, the distance is skied over five laps; there are four bouts of shooting (two prone and two standing, in that order) with the first shooting bout being at the lane corresponding to the competitor's bib number (bib #10 shoots at lane #10 regardless of position in race), with the rest of the shooting bouts being on a first-come, first-served basis (if a competitor arrives at the lane in fifth place, they shoot at lane 5). As in the sprint and pursuit, competitors must ski one penalty loop for each miss. Here again, to avoid unwanted congestion, World Cup Mass starts are held with only the 30 top ranking athletes on the start line (half that of the pursuit) as here all contestants start simultaneously.

Competition format

2016–17 Top 3 standings

Medal winners

Standings

References