The opening act of the 2017/2018 IBU World Cup went down from the 2nd to the 9th of December in Pokljuka (SLO), where the Italian National Team closed the competition with three medals. In the mixed relay, the opening race of the season, the quartet featuring Lukas Hofer, Dominik Windisch, Lisa Vittozzi and Dorothea Wierer — Olympic bronze medalists at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics — climbed on the 3rd step of the podium behind France and Switzerland, once again confirming to be one of the most talented team in the event. Dorothea Wierer was the main star of the second half of the competition: the Italian athlete placed 2nd bbehind Finland’s Kaisa Makarainen in both the sprint and pursuit race, bringing his career podium-count to 23. A strong performance, even without medals, was signed by Wierer’s teammate Lisa Vittozzi, who took 5th and 6th place in the same events. The second stage of the IBU World Cup will take place from the 13th to the 16th of December in Hochfilzen (AUT).