Cross-country skiing: “I believed in this project 1000%”, Mathis Desloges tells Nordic Magazine
On Sunday, Mathis Desloges made history in French cross-country skiing. In the skiathlon at the Olympic Games in Milan/Cortina, the Villardien won a magnificent silver medal, an unprecedented performance for the French team.
A top result, the fruit of a determined and original preparation. In mid-December, after the World Cup in Davos (Switzerland), the 23-year-old cross-country skier made a clear choice: to leave the classic circuit. He gave up the Tour de Ski and the World Cup in Oberhof (Germany) to devote himself fully to his Olympic project.
For almost eight weeks, the French cross-country skier will be building up his strength mainly between the Centre National de Ski Nordique et de Moyenne Montagne (CNSNMM), in Prémanon (Jura) and in his native Vercors. At the heart of this set-up: the treadmill, used as a central preparation tool.
“I started straight after Davos. You’d have to count the number of weeks, but I think it was 6-7 weeks [8 weeks in reality, editor’s note] before the Games. I alternated between my home and this mat at the National Centre. I did a lot of key sessions that I repeated from week to week so that I always had a reference point and an overview. I ate up hours on the mat, that’s for sure”, he tells Nordic Magazine.
At Prémanon, the Dauphinois was able to call on the expertise of Jonas Forot, head of performance at the CNSNMM, to analyse, adjust and refine every detail of his preparation. A choice that sometimes came as a surprise in a sport that is traditionally turned towards the outside world.
“Of course, there’s always a bit of talk about it, but I know why I’m doing it. I believed 1,000% in this project, so it didn’t worry me any more,” concludes Mathis Desloges.
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