Biathlon: Chloé Orvain, the biathlete from the Arve Valley
Nestling in the heights of the Arve Valley, 4 kilometres from La Roche-sur-Foron (Haute-Savoie), is the small village of Saint-Laurent (Haute-Savoie). One of the village’s 900-odd inhabitants is Chloé Orvain, a biathlete in her first year of U21 who is currently studying physics-chemistry-mechanics-mathematics at Grenoble Alpes University.
Introduced to cross-country skiing at primary school, she soon joined the ranks of the Ski club nordique du Pays Rochois. It’s a competitive club, so I’ve been racing since I was a little girl,” she recalls for Nordic Magazine. It just clicked and I loved it! The first race I did was a night race and I had stars in my eyes. I was already telling myself that I wanted to carry on doing it.
It was also thanks to volunteers from her club, like her dad, that she discovered biathlon, initially at 10 metres, during her secondary school years. ” The 50-metre biathlon was then an obvious choice,” she says.
Bronze medallist in the sprint at the French U19 championships last winter
After four years with the Mont-Blanc committee with no regular top-class results, she joined the Haute-Savoie Nordic Team in the spring.
“I hadn’t finished my biathlon experience,” she says. It has to be said that she ended last season in superb style , winning the U19 national bronze medal in the sprint at Peisey-Nancroix (Savoie).
It was my first podium in the French Cup,” she enthuses. During my first few years on the committee, I was a long way behind in the ski times, but I improved during the third season. Last winter, I did quite a bit of touring, finishing in around sixth place, and then it all came together in Peisey! It’s obviously a great motivator.
“Without this group, I wouldn’t have progressed as far as I have”.
Over the last few years, Chloé Orvain has seen most of her team-mates and committee friends – Voldiya Galmace-Paulin, Lola Bugeaud, Louise Roguet and Lou-Anne Dupont Ballet-Baz– leave for international competitions and then the federal groups. It was an ordeal she managed to get through by remaining honest with herself.
Of course I would have liked to go too, but I wasn’t ready because I lacked consistency,” she admits. There was a really high level in the Mont-Blanc group and we all got on well together, which pulled us up. Without that group, I wouldn’t have progressed as much. I was a long way behind technically and I was lacking in race management because I had the cash register. I’ve worked hard, a lot, and it’s starting to look pretty good!
A shooting coach named Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet
That’s how Chloé Orvain has never stopped working on her craft, doing one session after another to make progress in her own corner, without making a fuss. In fact, since the start of her preparation, it has been a certain Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet who has been giving her shooting advice.
When she comes on training courses with the Haute-Savoie Nordic Team, there are just the two of us and Alice [Dusserre], so she has a lot more time to look at what we’re all doing,” she enthuses. She’s also Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet, a great champion, so it’s cool to have her perspective, especially as she’s a girl, which is rare in the sport.
Aiming for the Junior Cup this winter
Last month, the Montblanc native completed a Summer Tour d’Arçon (Doubs) in the ying/yang world. On Saturday, she completely missed out in the sprint, finishing well behind the best at 2/10.
I pulled myself together in the evening, telling myself that this wasn’t my level and that I had to get back on track straight away,” says Chloé Orvain. The next day, I really enjoyed myself in the pursuit. I think it was one of my best races ever!
This weekend, she will be taking part in the Summer Tour at La Féclaz (Savoie), where she will be looking to put in another fine performance.
“The aim is to find this technical consistency in my shooting to get smoother results. After that, I’d like to take part in international races to see what I can do on the Junior Cup circuit”, says the young woman from Saint-Laurent in Haute-Savoie.
- Peisey-Nancroix: Léna Moretti crowned French U19 sprint champion ahead of Lola Bugeaud and Chloé Orvain
- The Haute-Savoie Nordic Team squad for the 2025/2026 season
- “The aim is to provide added value and an outside perspective”: this summer, Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet is coaching the women’s biathletes of the Haute-Savoie Nordic Team in shooting.
