Biathlon | Gaëtan Paturel talks to Nordic Magazine after spending the winter in the IBU Cup: “My best season since I started biathlon”

Biathlon: Gaëtan Paturel reflects on his winter for Nordic Magazine

This season, 21-year-old Gaëtan Paturel from Montblanc put in some superb performances. He won his place in the IBU Cup as early as the selections in November, and never left the circuit, winning race after race to finish the winter in eighth place overall.

Also runner-up in the world junior mixed relay in Östersund (Sweden), the Pays Rochois biathlete and member of the Haute-Savoie Nordic Team enjoyedthe best year of his young career. Gaëtan Paturel spoke to Nordic Magazine about the results. Interview.

• One month after the end of the 2024/2025 season, how would you sum up your winter at the IBU Cup?

If someone had told me I was going to do it this year, I’d have signed up straight away, that’s for sure! This is my best season since I started biathlon. I’m very happy with what I’ve been able to put in place this year, especially the fact that my results have been consistent, with no dips.

• You are eighth in the final overall ranking of the IBU Cup, with a fine fourth place in the individual speciality. Is this something you’ve been watching closely?

My main objective was to be in the top 15 so that I’d have a fairly easy choice of groups. Once I was in the top 15 and then the top 10, I had the idea of staying there. I knew that it wasn’t at all the same as in the World Cup because not everyone is always present at the IBU Cup. At the end of the day, it’s certainly nice to stay in the top ten on the second circuit!

• Before this winter, you had only made one appearance in the IBU Cup, in the finals of the 2023/2024 season. This time, you’ve spent the whole year on the circuit. What has enabled you to progress so much?

It’s funny because a lot of people ask me this question because they wonder why there’s been so much progress! I had a bit of a mental breakthrough, gaining confidence in what I could do and what I was capable of doing. I also did a lot of work on my weight, losing a lot, so I’m lighter now. Then there were lots of little things I was able to add, like a general change in the way I warmed up. I’m enjoying myself and I’ve gone forward confident in my project, without thinking.

• The longer the winter went on, the longer you stayed on the circuit, becoming an integral part of the French team. Did you feel that way?

I didn’t feel like an executive because I was new to the circuit! On the first stage, it was good because there was Oscar [Lombardot], Emilien [Claude] and Antonin [Guigonnat], so you could get your bearings. I was a bit of an outsider, which is always nice. As the season progressed, my confidence grew, but when the senior players were no longer there, I started to lose my bearings and I didn’t feel so good. I didn’t want to put myself under the pressure of being the leader and the one who absolutely had to get results.

• Now let’s talk about your shooting, the difficult point of your winter. You shot a 78% success rate (74% prone, 82% standing). What happened on the mats?

It was complicated. I got off to a pretty good start with some decent shots, like 8/10. Unfortunately, there was a very big gap at the Junior Worlds in Östersund. I don’t know if it was the pressure of the event, but I was shooting much too fast. I couldn’t stop breathing when I was lying down. Luckily it was filmed, so I was able to see it with my own eyes. I was able to avoid this problem at the end of the IBU Cup in Otepää thanks to the coaches, who gave me a lot of support and helped me to start thinking about solutions for the future. So it was a bit up and down, but I can’t improve everything in one year… I could have done so much better with better shooting, but that’s the way it is and that’s how I learn.

• We can imagine that your poor performance on the prone shot caused you a great deal of frustration after my races…

A lot! When the heat was on, I was very, very frustrated. At the European championships, I set the fastest times on skis and missed my shots when I could have won medals. There was a huge amount of frustration after each race, but it’s a frustration that allows me to move forward and learn about my shooting. The biggest frustration was at the World Junior Championships, where I knew I could have won titles, but my shooting just wasn’t up to scratch.

• Did your problems on the carpets start this season or were they there before?

I’ve never been an excellent shooter, that’s for sure. My big problem of not blocking my breathing appeared during the season, but when I saw images of training, I could feel that it was going to happen because I blocked very, very late before shooting. So the hold was very short and it got worse with the stress of the races and what was at stake.

• However, in cross-country skiing, you set some very fast times…

The first time I did a big time was in Obertilliach just before Christmas. I saw that I was only 20 seconds behind [Johannes] Dale-Skjevdal, who is one of the best skiers in the World Cup. I wasn’t expecting that and, little by little, my ski times became more regular and well ahead of the rest. I saw that I was capable of it and I no longer put any physical limits on my skiing times. Even if sometimes I didn’t have an incredible feeling, like at the European Championships, I just kept going! It was pretty incredible.

• Was it your level or did you feel you were over-revving?

I’d say that’s my level because I haven’t had a moment when I’ve exploded during a race. I knew I could go fast and hold on. Each time, it came down to mental strength on the last lap, but I knew what I could do. I gained confidence in my abilities.

• At the end of the season, you could have benefited from the extra World Cup quota for the finals in Oslo-Holmenkollen (Norway), but the staff decided otherwise. Did you understand this decision?

I knew from the beginning of February that they didn’t want me to do the World Junior Championships, the end of the IBU Cup in Otepää and then the World Cup. It was quite logical because it would have been complicated for me physically. I totally understand their decision. Oscar [Lombardot] totally deserved this place thanks to his results in the World Cup. He was far superior from the moment he started shooting well.

• Looking back on your winter, you’ve more or less followed the same route as Damien Levet last year, spending the season in the IBU Cup via the Haute-Savoie Nordic Team. This proves, once again, that things work well in Haute-Savoie…

The team enabled me to continue skiing after my A-levels! I can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done and put in place for me. It’s been a crazy year and one of the best of my life. Everyone in the group wanted the same thing and that pulled us all up. It just goes to show that the work we put into preparing our group works!

• Geilo: Isak Frey takes his third IBU Cup win in a row by winning the individual, Gaëtan Paturel sixth
• IBU Cup in Obertilliach: Johan-Olav Botn scores his first win of the season in the Mass-Start 60, Gaëtan Paturel a very good seventh
• IBU Cup Obertilliach: Gaëtan Paturel, Oscar Lombardot, Chloé Chevalier and Paula Botet on the mixed relay podium
• IBU Cup d’Arber: a stratospheric Johannes Dale-Skjevdal takes the sprint ahead of four other Norwegians, Gaëtan Paturel in the top 10
• IBU Cup in Brezno-Osrblie: almost 3 years later, Sivert Guttorm Bakken is back on the road to success by winning the individual short, Gaëtan Paturel in the flowers
• European Championships in Martell-Val Martello: the Norwegians demonstrate in the relay, Théo Guiraud-Poillot, Gaëtan Paturel, Oscar Lombardot and Rémi Broutier get a tan
• Time for a review: Théo Guiraud-Poillot, Gaëtan Paturel, Oscar Lombardot and Rémi Broutier talk to Nordic Magazine about their European Championships in Martell-Val Martello.
• Östersund: despite four penalty laps and a fall, Voldiya Galmace-Paulin, Amandine Mengin, Gaëtan Paturel and Edgar Geny are runners-up in the junior mixed relay.
• “Even with four laps to go, we’re capable of going for a medal”: the words of Voldiya Galmace-Paulin, Amandine Mengin, Gaëtan Paturel and Edgar Geny, silver medallists in the mixed relay at the World Junior Championships…
• Östersund Junior Worlds: Kasper Kalkenberg golden in the Mass-Start 60, Gaëtan Paturel sixth
• Otepää: Sivert Guttorm Bakken wins the IBU Cup individual short, Gaëtan Paturel excellent fifth
• Otepää: the Germans win the IBU Cup mixed relay, France’s Damien Levet, Gaëtan Paturel, Célia Henaff and Paula Botet second
• Les Saisies: Eric Perrot becomes French mass-start champion, Gaëtan Paturel takes U22 gold
• “A reward for the whole season”: Gaëtan Paturel’s reaction to being crowned French U22 champion in the mass-start format.