Biathlon: a nasty fall for Anaëlle Bondoux
Three weeks ago, on 9 October, Dauphiné biathlete Anaëlle Bondoux, one of the great hopes of French biathlon and a member of the federal B team, crashed while skiing during a training session in the Vercors.
“It was between Corrençon-en-Vercors and Villard-de-Lans, she recalls for Nordic Magazine. The axle on one of the rear wheels broke and a wheel came off, blocking my ski-wheel. So I fell forward on a descent at just over 40 kph. I didn’t hit my head, but it felt like whiplash, with my head going backwards and coming back hard. At the time, I didn’t think it was a very big fall because my knees were barely scraped. I was a bit shaken up, so I changed skis and finished my session.”
This is where Anaëlle Bondoux, by her own admission, “made a mistake” by continuing to train for two days as if nothing had happened.
“After 48 hours, I had more symptoms, like being in a fog, having a headache and feeling nauseous, continues the Grenoble native. We realised that I’d suffered a slight concussion in that fall and I should have had the reflex to stop completely for at least two days.”
Very low intensity training for a fortnight
After the diagnosis, Anaëlle Bondoux calmed down her training by sticking to aerobic training, as indicated in the protocol to be followed in such a situation.
“For a fortnight, I was only able to train at a very low intensity and with headaches, she explains. Gradually, with physiotherapy and osteopathic sessions, the symptoms diminished and I was able to resume training at a slightly higher intensity recently. At the moment, I’m back to a normal level of training with virtually no symptoms.”
To sum up, this incident “slightly disrupted” Anaëlle Bondoux’s preparation for three weeks. “I’m trying to take it as constructively as possible, continues the biathlete with two IBU Cup victories to her name. Every year, it’s a period when I tend to do more and more, and I arrive too tired at the start of the season. So this allowed me to keep my energy up.”
“This crash and its consequences are a minor disruption that will allow me to learn how to deal with the injury without, I hope, penalising me for the start of the season”
Especially as, as Stéphane Bouthiaux revealed in our columns, the Iséroise skier has already qualified for the first IBU Cup of the winter. The selections in Bessans (Savoie) scheduled for 14-17 November will therefore be a no-pressure affair for Anaëlle Bondoux.
“This means I can set my first target for the season at the end of November, for the start of the IBU Cup, she enthuses. That leaves me another month of hard work to get into shape.”
Although she says she was “frustrated” not to have been able to perform in Arçon(Doubs)in mid-October to get some reference points, Anaëlle Bondoux will be using the Bessan races to do just that.
“I’m not worried about my form and what I’ll be able to produce at the start of the winter. All the signs are green now, she assures us. The first few times I was able to ride at intensity, things were going really well and I felt really good. This fall and its consequences are a minor setback that will allow me to learn how to deal with the injury without penalising me, I hope, for the start of the season.”
- Anaëlle Bondoux reflects on her magnificent winter in the IBU Cup with two victories and a small globe: “I still need to build consistency”.
- Etoile des Saisies: Charly Deuffic and Anaëlle Bondoux win the 21-kilometre event and the U20 gold medal at the French long-distance championships
- Trail: Anaëlle Bondoux wins the Femina Race
- Anaëlle Bondoux reflects on her victory in the MaXi-Race women’s race: “I find that trail running is a really good part of my preparation”.
- Anaëlle Bondoux triumphs in the 23-kilometre Mont Blanc Marathon
- Anaëlle Bondoux wins the UTMB ETC
- Anaëlle Bondoux withdraws from the Summer Tour d’Arçon after a fall on ski-wheels
