Biathlon: Les Bleues on the hunt for European medals in Italy
This Wednesday, the thirty-second European Biathlon Championships kick off in Martell-Val Martello (Italy). For this latest edition of the continental competition, the French team is highly ambitious and has several cards up its sleeve to win medals.
First of all, there’s the women’s group: Camille Bened, Sophie Chauveau, Gilonne Guigonnat, Amandine Mengin, Voldiya Galmace-Paulin and Léonie Jeannier. All biathletes, with the exception of the last-mentioned, having reached the podium at least once this winter in the IBU Cup.
“Given our results so far, our objective is clearly to go out and win medals. We have a strong team and it’s clear that we’d be disappointed if there weren’t any podium finishes, especially for Sophie [Chauveau] who performed superbly in the World Cup, Stéphane Bouthiaux, director of the French biathlon teams, told Nordic Magazine. Gilonne [Guigonnat], Camille [Bened] and Voldiya [Galmace-Paulin] can also hope for a podium finish.”
All this in the knowledge that Gilonne Guigonnat and Camille Bened are back from flu, an illness which forced them to withdraw from the races in Brezno-Osrblie (Slovakia) at the start of January. “We don’t really know where they stand physically, it’s a bit of an unknown, but they’re not ill any more,” says Le Doubiste.
Young Frenchmen to gain experience, Oscar Lombardot to play up front
For the boys, Edgar Geny, Rémi Broutier, Valentin Lejeune, Théo Guiraud-Poillot and Gaëtan Paturel will be looking to gain experience against stiff international competition.
“We’re not as ambitious as we were with the girls – it would be pretentious of us not to be, says Stéphane Bouthiaux. We have a really young team. The aim for them will be to move up the hierarchy and for some of them to get into the top 10. Above all, we want them to compete in a biathlon and fulfil 100% of their potential.”
The last member of the men’s group is none other thanOscar Lombardot, who has recovered from compartment syndrome. Leader of the men’s delegation, he will have a completely different objective: “He’s aiming for a big result and in particular to go head-to-head with the Norwegians for the medals”, says the French biathlon boss.
The French selection for the European Biathlon Championships in Martell-Val Martello 🇮🇹
Ladies
- Camille Bened – Ski Club Chablais Nordic (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Voldiya Galmace-Paulin – Ski Club Villard sur Boëge (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Gilonne Guigonnat – Ski Club Villard sur Boëge (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Sophie Chauveau – ARMÉE DE CHAMPIONS / Ski Club Grand Bornand (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Amandine Mengin – La Bressaude Ski Section (Massif des Vosges) 🇫🇷
- Léonie Jeannier – Les Verrières/La Cluse (Massif Jurassien) 🇫🇷
Men
- Théo Guiraud-Poillot – Ski Club Villard sur Boëge (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Oscar Lombardot – ES Saugette (Massif Jurassien) 🇫🇷
- Gaëtan Paturel – SCN Pays Rochois (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Edgar Geny – Ski Club Sallanches (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Rémi Broutier – Bauges Nordic Skiing (Savoie) 🇫🇷
- Valentin Lejeune – Basse sur le Rupt (Massif des Vosges) 🇫🇷
The full programme for the Martell-Val Martello European Biathlon Championships 🇮🇹
Wednesday 29 January
- 10.30 am: Women’s 15 km individual
- 2.30pm: Men’s 20 km individual
Friday 31st January
- 10.45: women’s 7.5 km sprint
- 2.15pm: Men’s 10km sprint
Saturday 1st February
- 11.00: women’s 10 km pursuit
- 1.45pm: Men’s 12.5 km pursuit
Sunday 2 February
- 10.45am: Women’s 4x6km relay
- 1.45pm: Men’s 4×7.5km relay
- The full programme for the Martell-Val Martello European Championships, the sixth leg of the 2024/2025 IBU Cup
- IBU Cup: the French selection for the European Championships at Martell-Val Martello
