Biathlon: Les Bleues head for Bessans
After Aix-les-Bains (Savoie), Prémanon (Jura), Vassieux-en-Vercors (Drôme), Sandnes (Norway), Bessans (Savoie) for the first time, Lenzerheide (Switzerland) and Ramsau (Austria), the French women’s A biathlon team begins the eighth and final training camp in its preparations for the 2024/2025 season this Friday in Bessans.
Julia Simon, Lou Jeanmonnot, Jeanne Richard, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, Gilonne Guigonnat, Sophie Chauveau and Océane Michelon will be meeting at the end of the morning in the Haute Maurienne Vanoise resort.
In the afternoon, the Bleues, coached by Cyril Burdet, Patrick Favre and Jean-Paul Giachino, will compete in their first cross-country skiing session on the Bessan snowfarm. “When you know you can ski not far from home, you can’t wait, especially as you’ve been seeing the others on the snow for the last few days,” Océane Michelon told Nordic Magazine.
It’s also a great return to skiing for Beaufortaine Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, who hasn’t touched it since the end of last winter. Her six team-mates, for their part, got back in touch with the snow during the preparations, in Tignes (Savoie) for some, but especially in Ramsau (Austria) last month.
An end to preparation at altitude and a confrontation with the other Frenchwomen
“The main aim of this meeting is to get back out on the snow and do some specific work at race pace, confirms Cyril Burdet. We’ll also be handing in an important number for the selection races [on 14, 16 and 17 November, editor’s note], even if there’s nothing at stake for the group. It will still be an opportunity to race against girls who will be preparing this first event as a real objective. We’ll be able to test ourselves against the best in France and get into competition mode as we head into the final stretch before the World Cup.”
This end of preparation in Bessans is exactly the same as last year, with the choice of finishing the preparation season at altitude.
“These are our last ten days at altitude. As a result, the girls will have spent an average of between fifty and sixty days above 1,600 metres this summer, says the Savoie-based coach. So this course will allow us to finish off a certain amount of training for those who aren’t lucky enough to live at a high enough altitude all year round.”
Reminder of the official composition of the French women’s A biathlon team for the 2024/2025 season
- Justine Braisaz-Bouchet – DOUANE / Club des Sports des Saisies (Savoie) 🇫🇷
- Sophie Chauveau – ARMÉE DE CHAMPIONS / Ski Club Grand Bornand (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Gilonne Guigonnat – Ski Club Villard sur Boëge (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Lou Jeanmonnot – ARMY OF CHAMPIONS / Olympic Mont d’Or (Massif Jurassien) 🇫🇷
- Océane Michelon – Bauges Ski Nordique (Savoie) 🇫🇷
- Jeanne Richard – Les Gets Ski Compétition (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Julia Simon – DOUANE / Club des Sports des Saisies (Savoie) 🇫🇷
