Biathlon: Maya Cloetens twentieth in the pursuit at Le Grand-Bornand
On Friday afternoon, just minutes after finishing twenty-fourth in the sprint at Le Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie), Belgian rider Maya Cloetens explained that she’d had a bad experience. “I’m not sure that humans are cut out for this,” she summed up in our columns at the time.
On Saturday, the Dauphinoise, who this week is racing for the first time on home soil on the world’s greatest circuit, wasn’t impressed either. “I really enjoyed the race, it was so good! As soon as I warmed up, I was able to say hello to everyone. Today, I didn’t have the legs, but my shooting saved me. I gave it my all, it was incredible”, she told Nordic Magazine after the pursuit.
Maya Cloetens finished the race in twentieth place, making it her fifth consecutive World Cup top 25. All thanks to a perfect shot: “Doing 20/20 with the pressure of the crowd, I’m so happy. It’s also cool to be consistent without being perfect.”
It has to be said that, despite her excellent results, the Franco-Belgian has not managed to express herself to her full potential on cross-country skis.
At the start of his first World Cup mass-start this Sunday
“I don’t have the same level of skiing as the French team, but to be in the middle of the French girls from time to time is really cool, says a delighted competitor who has taken part in several international competitions in the French colours. Being at this level thanks to my shooting is really cool, and I’m hoping to make progress on skis so that I can really get out in front.”
This could be the case as early as this Sunday in the Bornand mass-start. Having qualified for the queen’s race by the narrowest of margins, Maya Cloetens will be hoping to shine. Especially as it will be her very first World Cup race.
- Le Grand-Bornand: Julia Simon superb second in the pursuit behind an untouchable Franziska Preuss, Jeanne Richard just off the podium
- Julia Simon’s delight after her second place in the Grand-Bornand pursuit: “It was pure fun”.
- “I’ve gained a lot of experience”: a first World Cup flower ceremony for Jeanne Richard, fourth in the pursuit at Le Grand-Bornand
- “Maybe I lacked conviction”: how Justine Braisaz-Bouchet lost her footing on the shooting range during the pursuit at Le Grand-Bornand
- “I’m not sure that humans are cut out for this”: despite finishing 24th in the sprint, Maya Cloetens had a “very bad time” at her first Grand-Bornand race.
