Biathlon: Quentin Fillon-Maillet happy with his coaches
At the beginning of November, it was a year and a half ago that Jean-Pierre Amat, in charge of shooting, and Simon Fourcade, in charge of physical preparation and cross-country skiing, took charge of the French men’s biathlon team. Their arrival came after Les Bleus staged a putsch in an Oslo hotel to push the duo of Vincent Vittoz and Patrick Favre out of the equation.
At the end of his second training session under his new coaches, Quentin Fillon-Maillet from the Jura is in a position to judge what they have brought him.
“Jean-Pierre [Amat] is a very intelligent person who has a lot of experience in sport. He’s a bit like a library where you can look for information when you need it, explains the Grandvallier to Nordic Magazine. He’s immediately able to reassure us or find a solution. What I like about him, too, is that he’s open-minded and always takes into account our perception, our way of working and our experience.”
“We’re starting to reap the benefits of the physical project”
A quality that fits in perfectly with the wishes of the French biathletes following the departure of their former coaches. “I’m at a point in my career where I’ve got a fair bit of experience and a few results. I’m starting to know myself well and I know more or less where I want to go. First of all, I expect a coach to be open about my project, but also about those [of my team-mates] who will have different expectations”, Quentin Fillon-Maillet told our columns in April 2023, a few weeks after the coup de force in Oslo.
Simon Fourcade, for his part, brings to the Franc-Comtois his perspective as a former World Cup biathlete. “He’s trying to transpose some of his vision and his freedom of thought about the way we operate. He’s managed to understand us, says a delighted Quentin Fillon-Maillet. We’re starting to reap the rewards of the project on the physical side, notably with better energy management. Collectively, I think we have a stronger team than last year. The working atmosphere is good, and things are moving in the right direction with the youngsters pushing us to be better! We can’t rest on our laurels.”
Les Bleus will then fly to Norway, and return to the snow in Sjusjøen (Norway) on Tuesday. For Quentin Fillon-Maillet, this will mark the start of his final preparation for the World Cup, with the first races scheduled in Kontiolahti (Finland) from 30 November.
- Quentin Fillon-Maillet takes stock of the mistakes he has made over the last two years: “It was hard to come to terms with my Olympic season”, “Maybe I was less motivated” and “Preparation was lacklustre”.
- Quentin Fillon-Maillet on the start of the World Cup: “I feel like the last two years have wiped out my record of achievements and that I have to recreate everything”.
- Quentin Fillon-Maillet after winning the gold medal in the Arçon sprint: “I’m satisfied because I’m back to good standards”.
- Summer Tour d’Arçon pursuit: Quentin Fillon-Maillet, untouchable, wins another gold medal as French champion
- Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Martin Fourcade, Lisa Vittozzi and Emilien Claude pay tribute to Rafael Nadal with words such as “Thank you”, “Legend” and “A long time no see”.
- Reform of the IBU race number order: “It’s not fair”, Quentin Fillon-Maillet also expresses his dissatisfaction
- “I’m only satisfied when I win”: at the Martin Fourcade Nordic Festival, Quentin Fillon-Maillet finished just off the podium
- Slowed down by a stomach ulcer, Quentin Fillon-Maillet is back in training
- Quentin Fillon-Maillet carried the Olympic flame through the streets of Pontarlier
- Time for an assessment for Quentin Fillon-Maillet: “It was hard to accept that I wasn’t able to achieve my goals”.
