Biathlon: 32nd in the Ruhpolding sprint, Océane Michelon in search of her bearings
A few minutes after crossing the finish line of the sprint in Ruhpolding (Germany), Océane Michelon took the time to chat with her coaches Jean-Paul Giachino and Cyril Burdet. The 23-year-old biathlete appeared to be on the verge of tears.
Finishing 32nd with two faults in front of the targets and the 24th fastest ski time, she put in a performance that was way out of her league, and she is the first to be disappointed. She has just one top 10 finish (9th in the Oberhof sprint) in her last eight individual races, and hasn’t managed a perfect shot since the Östersund (Sweden) sprint on 5 December.
“Everything is going well… except in the race”.
Speaking to La Chaîne L’Équipe, she shared her frustration: “I’m saddened by the fact that I can’t achieve my full potential. There’s everything there to do well; it’s boring because it’s never very bad, but never good. It’s wearisome and frustrating to go round and round, with no end in sight. […] People keep telling me: I’ve got the resources, I’ve got it under control, the training’s going really well. It’s annoying not to be able to finish. I put myself under pressure because that’s what happens 95% of the time, except when I’m racing.
The situation is all the more difficult to accept given thatOcéane Michelon is coming off a winter that ended with an unexpected fifth place overall and the blue bib of best young rider. A performance that prompted her to set herself new goals. “This winter, my aim was to find consistency and let myself go. That’s not what I’m doing at the moment,” says the current fourth-placed Frenchwoman overall (11th).
“Refocus on your skiing and fluidity before thinking about the result,” advises Cyril Burdet.
Cyril Burdet tried to give us some clues, again with La Chaîne L’Équipe : “Our sport is difficult because it’s not just about the body. You also have to grasp things. She’s looking for something that makes her too tense. The aim will be to find a way of refocusing her on her skiing and fluidity before thinking about the result. She’s having trouble getting out of it, which explains this kind of performance.
In the pursuit on Sunday (12.30pm), she will start 1 minute 21 seconds off the lead, but 38 seconds off the top 10. A comeback is conceivable, provided she resolves the problems that have plagued her in recent World Cup races.
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