The Biathlon World Cup is a top-level biathlon season-long competition series. It has been held since the winter seasons of 1977–78 for men and 1982–83 for women. The women's seasons until 1986–87 season were called the European Cup, although participation was not restricted to Europeans.

Vanessa Hinz is a former German biathlete and cross-country skier. Hinz started in her first world cup races at the end of the 2012/13-season. At the 2013 European Championships she won a gold medal with the German relay team. In 2014, she participated in the Winter Olympics in Sochi. She was officially nominated by the DOSB on 23 January 2014, but not taken with the team to Russia. So she had to wait at home as stand-by reserve.