Biathlon: worst Grand-Bornand since 2017 for Quentin Fillon-Maillet
It was only the second time since the 2017 Biathlon World Cup in Le Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie) that Quentin Fillon-Mailler had had such a low-scoring week in Haute-Savoie.
Already in trouble last year in the Aravis, the double Olympic champion was unable to find the solutions on the Sylvie-Becaert stadium where he shone so brightly in 2019 and 2021, taking three podiums, including one victory, and taking part in three other flower ceremonies.
It has to be said that Quentin Fillon-Maillet largely fell back on his prone shooting, missing two bullets in the sprint, the pursuit and then the mass start. Naturally, with such tricky starts, the results didn’t follow and the Jurassien finished twentieth, fourteenth and twenty-sixth in front of his supporters.
“It’s infuriating and I’m very disappointed”.
“It’s infuriating and I’m very disappointed. I’ve got a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth, even though I enjoyed sharing it with the public,” he told Nordic Magazine on Sunday evening after the mass start. I’m doing everything I can to try and be the best, but I don’t have the natural ease of Lou [Jeanmonnot], which I’d love to have. I made some easy mistakes, of course, but I didn’t go into the shoot thinking it was easy.
Currently seventh in the world without a top 6 finish in the last five individual races, Quentin Fillon-Maillet nevertheless left for his end-of-year holidays with the confidence he had gained from his winning pursuit in Östersund (Sweden) at the beginning of December.
“I’m going to try to come back much stronger in January by continuing to build up my recumbent shot to gain confidence”, he promises, while he is satisfied with his physical form, which is more than adequate. By improving his statistics on the mats, Quentin Fillon-Maillet has all the cards in his hand to shine again in 2026. With the Olympic goal in his sights.
[With Aymeric Kubica, special correspondent in Le Grand-Bornand].
- The full programme for the Annecy – Le Grand-Bornand World Cup, third leg of the 2025/2026 season
- Caroline Colombo: my best memory of… Annecy – Le Grand-Bornand
- Paula Botet and Valentin Lejeune selected, Jeanne Richard only on the mass-start: the French team selection for the Grand-Bornand World Cup
- Paula Botet and Valentin Lejeune rise in the Grand-Bornand, Emilien Claude and Jeanne Richard are downgraded: Stéphane Bouthiaux, head of the French biathlon, explains the situation
- Grand-Bornand 2025 World Cup: the teams and stars who will be rocking Le Grand-Bornand this week
- Le Grand-Bornand: first home podium for Lou Jeanmonnot, second in the sprint behind Hanna Oeberg
- “It’s the first time I’ve managed a Grand-Bornand”: never before on the podium in the Aravis, how Lou Jeanmonnot managed to finish second in the sprint.
- “The level of the race was incredible”: Cyril Burdet talks to Nordic Magazine about the French sprinters’ performance in Grand-Bornand.
- Le Grand-Bornand: Emilien Jacquelin magnificent third in the sprint won by Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen ahead of Johannes Dale-Skjevdal
- What showman Emilien Jacquelin had to say after finishing third in the Grand-Bornand sprint: “I’ve rediscovered the very essence of why I do sport”.
- “I never imagined we’d do so well”: Siegfried Mazet talks to Nordic Magazine about the Norwegians’ fine group sprint performance at Le Grand-Bornand.
- Le Grand-Bornand: Lou Jeanmonnot triumphs in the pursuit, Julia Simon returns to the flower ceremony
- Le Grand-Bornand: Lou Jeanmonnot wears the yellow number in the mass start
- “It’s not an end in itself”: Lou Jeanmonnot on his first win at Le Grand-Bornand
- Le Grand-Bornand: 21st overall after the pursuit, Jeanne Richard will be at the start of Sunday’s mass-start race
- Le Grand-Bornand: Johan-Olav Botn wins the pursuit ahead of Emilien Jacquelin and Johannes Dale-Skjevdal, Eric Perrot fourth
- “I see it’s clear on the right, so I sneak in”: the moment when Emilien Jacquelin got away from Eric Perrot to take second place in the Grand-Bornand pursuit.
- Fourth in the pursuit at Le Grand-Bornand, Eric Perrot made a “heartfelt” decision in the final package.
- Le Grand-Bornand: Maren Kirkeeide wins the mass-start in the sprint ahead of Lou Jeanmonnot and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, fourth place for Camille Bened
- Le Grand-Bornand: Lou Jeanmonnot keeps the overall lead and will spend the festive season with the yellow bib
- Lou Jeanmonnot: “There really was something better to do in this finish”: second in the Grand-Bornand mass-start, Lou Jeanmonnot has a touch of regret
- “I really need to improve my last-lap strategies”: Justine Braisaz-Bouchet’s assessment after finishing third in the mass-start at Le Grand-Bornand.
- “I can’t be disappointed”: Camille Bened was alone in the lead in the last mass-start at Le Grand-Bornand and fourth at the finish, but she has no regrets.
- Le Grand-Bornand: Tommaso Giacomel wins the mass-start, Eric Perrot superb second at 20/20
- “Winning here is truly exceptional”: Tommaso Giacomel, buoyed by the love of the French public in the mass-start
- Eric Perrot, a podium in the Grand-Bornand mass-start that gives you ideas: “Now I want to hit the ground running a bit harder”.
- 67,000 spectators attended the 2025 World Cup in Annecy – Le Grand-Bornand
