Biathlon season at Cloudbet: how I bet the winter sport I grew up watching

Biathlon was always on the television in my family's flat on winter weekends. Skiing, shooting, more skiing, and that moment of silence before each shot. I still watch every World Cup weekend from late November to March, and for the past two seasons I have placed small bets on it at Cloudbet using bitcoin.

Biathlon is a niche sport for most bookmakers, and that is part of its appeal. The markets are thinner, and a fan who follows the athletes closely can sometimes see things the prices miss.

The main markets I use are race winner, top three finish and head-to-head between two athletes. Outright winner prices are tempting because the field is large and favourites lose often. A single miss on the range adds a penalty loop or a minute to the time, and that can drop the best skier in the world out of the podium.

Shooting form is the key factor for me. Some athletes are fast skiers with unreliable shooting. Others are slower on the track but rarely miss. In sprint races, with only two shooting stages, fast skiers have the advantage. In individual races, where each miss costs a full minute, accurate shooters move up. I adjust my picks to the format of each race.

Weather plays a big role too. Wind on the range makes shooting much harder and causes surprise results. When strong wind is forecast, I avoid short-priced favourites and look at head-to-heads between consistent shooters.

Head-to-head bets have been my most reliable market. I pick two athletes of similar level and back the one whose shooting suits the conditions. These are close to even money, and over two seasons I have won a bit more than I lost on them.

Cloudbet covers every World Cup race, as far as I have seen, with winner, podium and head-to-head markets, and sometimes extra lines such as nationality of the winner. Prices go up a day or two before each race. Limits are modest for a niche sport but well above what I bet.

Settlement is quick. Biathlon results are official soon after the race, and my bets have usually settled within half an hour. Bitcoin withdrawals have reached my wallet within a few hours.

Before I opened my account, I read a piece with Cloudbet's markets and payouts reviewed in some detail. I was mainly interested in how the book handled less popular sports and how fast withdrawals were. My experience has matched what I read.

I keep stakes very small for biathlon, smaller than for football or tennis. The sport is unpredictable, and one gust of wind can wipe out a careful bet. That unpredictability is also what makes it so good to watch. A small bet on a head-to-head gives me a reason to follow athletes from the back of the field, and it makes the shooting stages even more tense than they already are.

Published 4 November 2026.