Biathlon: Valentin Lejeune and Oscar Lombardot have big things to play for in the Olympic race this Thursday in Oberhof
Since 23 December, when the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) unveiled the first list of athletes selected for the 2026 Olympics, there are only two men’s biathlon tickets left to be won. It has to be said that Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Eric Perrot, Fabien Claude and Emilien Jacquelin are already guaranteed a place in Italy in just over a month’s time.
The staff therefore have two weeks of the World Cup to finalise their list. Present in Oberhof (Germany) from this Thursday, Oscar Lombardot and Valentin Lejeune have a head start over their direct rivals Antonin Guigonnat and Emilien Claude, who are restricted to the IBU Cup.
“Roughly speaking, if there is no turnover between Oberhof and Ruhpolding, we will take to the Games the athletes from the World Cup group who are present and who deserve to be there”.
As a result, today’s sprint is of vital importance in the race for Olympic selection.
“It’s certain that places will start to count for the Games and that, if Oscar Lombardot and Valentin Lejeune score big points in Oberhof, an Olympic selection will clearly start to take shape for them. Quite simply because the door won’t necessarily be open to the others,” Simon Fourcade, Les Bleus’ coach, told Nordic Magazine. Roughly speaking, if there is no turnover between Oberhof and Ruhpolding, we will take to the Games the athletes from the World Cup group who are present and who deserve to be there.
If, on the other hand, the decision is made in favour of a turnover at the end of the week, the staff will make their selection on the basis of a “performance comparison”.
We’ll try to be as objective as possible, but there won’t be any direct confrontations,” says Simon Fourcade. We’ll decide on the basis of what we’ve seen, but under no circumstances will raw results be the only factor. Twentieth place in Ruhpolding is not necessarily the same as twentieth place in Oberhof, and vice versa. The selectors will take an overall look at the results to establish the group.
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