Biathlon: Sophie Chauveau’s feat
At the start of the week, when Anaïs Bescond from Normandy debriefed the Biathlon World Cup in Kontiolahti (Finland) for Nordic Magazine, she dwelt on the case of Sophie Chauveau. Having struggled in Finland, where she failed to score any points, the Bornand native was a real concern to observers, given that a member of the French team will have to leave the group before the races in Le Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie), her home town.
“I think she’s still finding her feet. Even though she’s gained some good experience over the last two years, she still needs to stabilise her shooting and her emotions. She’s still a work in progress. For the moment, she’s making her mark as the fourth girl in the relay, but she still has some things to work on in terms of her shooting and her individual skills. Despite everything, I’ve really noticed the differences on the mat compared to before, but it’s still a work in progress”, said the 2018 Olympic mixed relay champion.
This Friday lunchtime, during the sprint in Hochfilzen (Austria), the Haut-Savoyard started with the number 5 bib… and the obligation to shine to avoid the risk of being relegated to the lower echelon in a few days’ time. So, in the face of adversity and under the Tyrolean sun, she set herself free, delivering her best performance of her career with a 10/10 and a more than convincing ski time. Largely in the lead at the time of her arrival, she explained in the mixed zone to La Chaîne L’Equipe, even though nothing had happened yet, that she felt “a huge sense of relief”.
She has (probably) earned her place at Le Grand-Bornand
“Last week was extremely tough, as my family can attest. I’ve had to work on myself to get back on track. There was a lot of work to do on the shooting when I arrived in Hochfilzen, and I had to start from scratch to rewrite everything,” she continued.
Clearly, the work done with Jean-Paul Giachino and Patrick Favre has paid off, as on Friday Sophie Chauveau was only beaten by Germany’s Franziska Preuss (9/10), 7.7 seconds faster and the new holder of the yellow bib.
With this second World Cup podium in her career, the biathlete from Les Aravis has launched her season in style, and has very likely secured her ticket for Le Grand-Bornand. Third on the podium was Norway’s Karoline Knotten (10/10), while Lou Jeanmonnot (9/10), Selina Grotian (10/10) and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (8/10) rounded off the flower ceremony.
More complicated races, however, for Julia Simon (8/10), seventeenth, Océane Michelon (8/10), twenty-first but new wearer of the blue bib, Gilonne Guigonnat (8/10), thirty-second, and Jeanne Richard (8/10), thirty-fifth.
Full results
- The full programme for the Hochfilzen World Cup, the second stage of the 2024/2025 season
- Corinne Niogret: my best memory of… Hochfilzen
- “It’s like stepping out of the shadows into the light”: between Kontiolahti and Hochfilzen, the World Cup leaves the darkness behind to find the sun again
- “I just feel super happy to have achieved this”: how did Eric Perrot digest his victory in the Kontiolahti mass-start and his assumption of power in the general standings?
- “It’s like one last shot at victory, until you experience it, you don’t know what it’s like…”: during the Hochfilzen sprint, Eric Perrot will experience his first race with the yellow bib on his back.
- “There’s the Dominik Landertinger climb, which is really hard and long…”: Austria’s Anna Gandler describes the track and shooting range at Hochfilzen
