Biathlon: Les Bleus back with seven for the summer
A year ago, the management of the French men’s biathlon team decided to reduce the number of members in the A training group coached by Simon Fourcade and Jean-Pierre Amat. At the time, only Eric Perrot, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Emilien Jacquelin, Fabien Claude and Oscar Lombardot were selected.
Antonin Guigonnat and Emilien Claude remained on the sidelines, relegated to the B squad. “It seemed to us that their results weren’t good enough to get them into Group A,” explained Stéphane Bouthiaux, director of the French teams, in our columns at the time.
Twelve months later, things are very different, as the Vosges native and the Haut-Savoyard have been reintegrated into the French senior team for pre-Olympic preparation. So, as they did two years ago, the coaches have a group of seven biathletes to manage throughout the summer.
“The idea of bringing together all the potential Olympic qualifiers in a single group seemed appropriate, Simon Fourcade told Nordic Magazine. That’s the choice we made so as not to leave anyone on the sidelines and so that everyone could undergo the same preparation so as to have the same chances of being selected for the first races of the season.”
Five biathletes protected for the start of the World Cup
Eric Perrot, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Emilien Claude, Fabien Claude and Emilien Jacquelin, all of whom scored at least one individual World Cup podium last winter, will also be protected for the start of next season.
“They’re automatically selected for the start of the season, even if nothing is official yet, confirms the Les Bleus coach. There’s a certain logic to it. After that, there will still be one place up for grabs between several athletes, including Antonin Guigonnat and Oscar Lombardot.”
The selection process for this final World Cup place has yet to be determined and could be unveiled in the coming weeks.
“We hope, of course, that some of the younger players we saw emerge last year will join the battle and play spoilsport, if only to fuel and increase the emulation within Group A,” concludes Simon Fourcade.
The official composition of the French men’s A biathlon team for the 2025/2026 season
- Emilien Claude – ARMÉE DE CHAMPIONS / Basse sur Le Rupt Nordic skiing (Massif des Vosges) 🇫🇷
- Fabien Claude – ARMÉE DE CHAMPIONS / Basse sur Le Rupt Nordic skiing (Massif des Vosges) 🇫🇷
- Quentin Fillon-Maillet – DOUANE / Ski Club du Grandvaux (Massif Jurassien) 🇫🇷
- Emilien Jacquelin – DOUANE / CS Nordique Villard de Lans (Dauphiné) 🇫🇷
- Eric Perrot – ARMÉE DE CHAMPIONS / Ski Club Peisey-Vallandry (Savoie) 🇫🇷
- Oscar Lombardot – Entente Sportive Saugette (Massif Jurassien) 🇫🇷
- Antonin Guigonnat – ARMY OF CHAMPIONS / Ski Club Morzine Avoriaz (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
Staff
- Coach: Simon Fourcade
- Shooting coach : Jean-Pierre Amat
