Biathlon | Emilien Claude talks to Nordic Magazine a few days after becoming runner-up in the world relay : “That’s it, my career has really taken off”

Biathlon: Emilien Claude talks to Nordic Magazine

Last Saturday, to everyone’s surprise, Emilien Claude from the Vosges took part in the men’s relay at the biathlon world championships in Lenzerheide (Switzerland). ReplacingEmilien Jacquelin alongside Fabien Claude, Eric Perrot and Quentin Fillon-Maillet, the 25-year-old from Bassur won a silver medal in his very first career start in the competition.

Emilien Claude, who is in Austria this week before heading off to Nove Mesto (Czech Republic), spoke to Nordic Magazine about his crazy few days. Interview.

• Can you tell us about the start of the world championships in Lenzerheide (Switzerland), when you were just a reserve?

When I arrived in Switzerland, the first 24 hours were a bit difficult… It’s complicated to say to yourself that you’re in a place for ten days, but only as a replacement and with virtually no hope of being able to race. So the aim was to get ready for March. After that, I told myself that if I was offered a start, I’d have to give 100%. I really did the job and everything as if I were running every race, particularly in terms of nutrition, sleep and recovery. I took this replacement role to heart and it was quite fun.

• When did you know you were going to run the relay?

Simon [Fourcade] told me to be ready because nothing was written for the individual. I was ready just in case and, in the end, I also experienced this individual race from the side of the track. It was only on Thursday morning, two days before the race, that I found out officially that I was going to run the relay. It felt a bit strange, but I was overexcited and super happy. The pressure was on because it’s a relay! I’d already done one in Ruhpolding, but this one is the most important of the season and with the brother (sic). It’s a real childhood dream!

• Was it easy to make the switch between being a replacement and a starter on the relay?

Yes, because my programme was based on the week of the race like my team-mates. It was a quick switch because I’d been on the lookout since the evening of the pursuit when Simon [Fourcade] told me it was possible I’d be lining up. I was ready! With the stress afterwards, it doesn’t take you long to get back into the swing of things. You think about it all the time, but I really took it in my excitement and positive mode. It gave me a boost! I was apprehensive about how I was going to react on the morning of the race, but it all fell into place and I really got to grips with things.

• When you stand in the start area before launching this World Championship relay, is it so different from a World Cup?

It’s even more special because there’s that little extra something that makes it a world championship. The only thing that counts in these races is the medal! On top of that, we were undefeated since the start of the season with the team and favourites with the number 1 bib. At that point, I knew that the team was counting on me to get the job done and go for the title and not just have an average race. I didn’t want to disappoint, even though I knew that I wasn’t there for nothing. I told myself that if I did my biathlon, it should go well! I had to be clever and stay hidden to get past the shots before I dropped everything in the last lap.

• In the end, you did a good relay and France won the silver medal: how much confidence does that give you for the future?

Honestly, I didn’t expect to be part of this year’s relay team, especially at the Worlds. It seemed like mission impossible! It’s a medal I’m delighted to have, and one that perhaps makes up a little for the lack of success in recent years. I tell myself that this is it, my career has really taken off. Since January, that’s for sure, but now even more so with my first world medal. I hope that, in the years to come, I’ll be part of the core of this relay with, in the back of my mind, the desire to be there next year at the Olympic Games.

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• This podium was also achieved with your older brother Fabien Claude. Is this an achievement for both of you?

The crowning glory would be an Olympic medal, but it’s still a childhood dream come true. We’re still at the very top of the list of goals we wanted to achieve in our career in terms of family. We don’t know what the future will hold and whether we’ll still have the chance to do it. So, before the relay, there was a little extra pressure to win this medal together. Nobody knows yet, but it might have been our only chance! Even so, I’m convinced that there will be others.

• What are your objectives for the end of the season?

Obviously, it’s about finishing the winter as well as possible. Over the three weeks in January, I was in the top 10 overall, so I’m going to try to take advantage of my mental and physical freshness to achieve the same kind of results in March. I think I’m confident in my shooting and in the way I do biathlon. I’m not going to set myself any limits. The only numerical objective would be to break into the top 20 overall [he is currently twenty-fourth, editor’s note]. That means being in the mass-starts! I’m also fourth in the individual rankings, so the Pokljuka race will be important and anything could happen if I get 20/20. Maybe history will be beautiful, you never know!

• First for Océane Michelon and Emilien Claude, the selected managers, the sixth women’s ticket to be awarded: the French selection for the world championships in Lenzerheide.
• Emilien Claude talks about his excellent January and his role as a substitute at the Worlds: “Suddenly I was running up several steps”.
• Emilien Claude in place of Emilien Jacquelin: the tricolour line-up for the men’s relay at the World Championships in Lenzerheide
• Lenzerheide: the Boe brothers’ Norway become world relay champions again, Emilien Claude, Fabien Claude, Eric Perrot and Quentin Fillon-Maillet win silver medals
• “The family medal: a first joint world podium for Fabien and Emilien Claude, who won silver in the Lenzerheide relay