Biathlon: Camille Bened makes a convincing World Cup debut
On Friday afternoon, Camille Bened discovered the biathlon World Cup. At the age of 24, after several frustrating winters watching her French B team mates blossom one by one on this circuit, the Chablais native – winner of the IBU Cup big globe a week ago – took her chance in full.
Starting with bib 76, after the favourites and on a broken track, the Haut-Savoyard, at 9/10, finished thirteenth, scoring a solid top 15 less than 20 seconds from the flower ceremony for her very first World Cup bib.
“I think I showed myself at my best, she told Nordic Magazine. I’m really happy with the race I did, even if I’m one ball short of standing up. That’s what biathlon is all about! Thirteenth place is really encouraging and it puts me in good stead for the pursuit, which is a good thing.”
Shot by Lou Jeanmonnot and Elvira Oeberg in her first round
However, things didn’t get off to the best of starts for Camille Bened, who had to make some complicated adjustments, in particular to her gun.
“I panicked a bit, but I managed to settle down once I was in the starting gate, she says. When I started my run, Elvira [Oeberg] and Lou [Jeanmonnot] were coming out of their shot and I got into their skis. I managed to hold on for the whole loop and I’m really happy about that!”
The Chablais Nordic biathlete scored 5/5 in the horizontal shot and even had the luxury of taking the lead in the rankings. “Cyril [Burdet] announced me in the lead, 4 seconds ahead of Franziska [Preuss], and I thought to myself: “Wow, what’s going on? I didn’t really believe it, she admits with a smile. I quickly realised that I was going to be in the fight. It was a really nice feeling to be able to fight for a good place.”
She helped bring points to the Nations Cup
With this result, Camille Bened will be in the thick of the battle this Saturday afternoon from 3.50pm in the pursuit, a race in which she will be chasing several hares at once: “There’s the objective of taking the mass-start, but, initially, the aim will be to have a good pursuit while continuing to do my biathlon. If I can put all that together, I’ll be able to take the mass-start, which would be the icing on the cake of this great season!”
The other icing on the cake was winning the small crystal globe in the Nations Cup, for which Camille Bened contributed in this final sprint of the season as third Frenchwoman. “It’s a bit anecdotal because it was already decided, but it’s nice to be able to say that I’ve made a small contribution,” she concludes.
- The full programme for the Oslo-Holmenkollen World Cup, the ninth and final stage of the 2024/2025 season
- Oslo-Holmenkollen World Cup: the full programme for the presentation of the crystal globes
- Corinne Niogret: my best memory of… Oslo-Holmenkollen
- Firsts for Camille Bened and Amandine Mengin, the boys’ sevens: the French team selection for the Oslo-Holmenkollen World Cup finals
- “I want to show myself at my best”: how Camille Bened approached her first steps on the World Cup sprint circuit in Oslo-Holmenkollen
- Chloé Bened’s pride after her older sister Camille Bened won the IBU Cup overall and was selected for the World Cup: “She’s our star, our champion, our idol”.
- Amandine Mengin on the eve of her World Cup debut in Oslo-Holmenkollen: “I have no idea why my season has taken such a turn for the worse…”.
- “She’ll remember this season for the rest of her life”: long-time friend and team-mate Maëla Correia talks about Amandine Mengin, who is about to discover the World Cup in Oslo-Holmenkollen.
- “Help them to repeat what they have done so far”: what Cyril Burdet expects from Camille Bened and Amandine Mengin at their first World Cup in Oslo-Holmenkollen.
- “The small sprint globe is up for grabs”: in addition to the overall podium, Emilien Jacquelin will be going for the crystal in Oslo-Holmenkollen.
- Race for the crystal globe: the sprint finals in Oslo-Holmenkollen, a decisive stage in Lou Jeanmonnot’s quest
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Johannes Thingnes Boe, king in front of his home crowd, wins the last sprint of his career, Quentin Fillon-Maillet and Emilien Claude in the top 10
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Johannes Thingnes Boe wins the small globe in the sprint, the fourth of his career
- “I felt my left leg shaking…”. how Emilien Jacquelin explains his cracking standing shot in the Oslo-Holmenkollen sprint
- “I’m still very upset”: Eric Perrot angry at the IBU’s decision not to reverse the sprint start list
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: the French men’s team triumphs at the Nations Cup for the first time in its history
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: the photo album of the French men’s team with the Nations Cup crystal globe
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Franziska Preuss wins the sprint by 2 tenths of a second over Lou Jeanmonnot, Julia Simon fifth
- “15 points for 2 tenths is extremely expensive”: despite a full race, Lou Jeanmonnot lost ground to Franziska Preuss in the quest for the big globe
- “I was very relieved when Lou finished his race”: two tenths worth 15 precious points for Franziska Preuss after the sprint in Oslo-Holmenkollen
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: by winning the sprint just ahead of Lou Jeanmonnot, Franziska Preuss takes a 35-point lead overall
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Franziska Preuss secures the small globe in the sprint, becoming the sixth German woman to win it
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Jeanne Richard edges out Océane Michelon in the battle for the best U23 trophy
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: for the third year running and the sixth time, the French women’s team lift the small globe in the Nations Cup
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: the photo album of the French women’s team with the Nations Cup crystal globe
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Lou Jeanmonnot’s photo album with the crystal globe in the individual race
