Biathlon: dress rehearsal for Les Bleus at La Féclaz
This Saturday, with five days to go until the first event of the Biathlon World Championships in Lenzerheide (Switzerland), the French team, with the exception of Lou Jeanmonnot, will be taking part in the French Cup sprint in La Féclaz (Savoie). Last year, Les Bleus had already performed at the Alexis Boeuf stadium before heading off to Nove Mesto (Czech Republic).
While the Swedes, Germans, Norwegians, Finns, Italians and Austrians remain in hiding with less than a week to go before the start of the World Championships, Les Bleus are coming out of the woodwork.
“The idea is to do another intense race with some competition so that we can see where we stand before the Worlds, Emilien Jacquelin tells Nordic Magazine. For my part, I need races and high intensity to decompress. I need to go for maximum effort to see the effects on my body. Competition is the only way for me to get back to that kind of effort. It will also allow me to work on my shooting.”
A walk in the park before leaving for Switzerland
Eric Perrot has come to the Bauges to get the machine up and running again.
“I’m going to try to get into this sprint in exactly the same way as I did at the World Championships, he insists. This will serve as a warm-up and allow me to get into the swing of things. I know that I often need to get into the rhythm of competitions. Instead of doing it in the first few races, I might as well do it a week before. I like to repeat what I’m doing so that I can release my energy on the big day and make it work.”
Their Grandvallier team-mate Quentin Fillon-Maillet, meanwhile, is no stranger to winter racing. In early January, before Oberhof (Germany), he took part in the French Cup in Prémanon (Jura). “In the same way, the aim is to hand in a race number. Instead of doing a session on your own at home without any reference points or challenges, you come to this stage for the confrontation and to hand in a race number, he says. It also allows you to get your bearings again.”
For the public, who are expected to flock to La Féclaz for this day of festivities, it’s also a wonderful opportunity to see the French stars up close before they take the plunge at the Worlds.
Antonin Guigonnat, Emilien Claude, Fabien Claude, Eric Perrot, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Emilien Jacquelin, Julia Simon, Jeanne Richard, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Océane Michelon will all be taking part.
- The full programme for the French Cup at La Féclaz, contested by most of the French national team selected for the World Championships in Lenzerheide.
- Last bib before the world championships in Lenzerheide: the full start lists for the French Cup sprints at La Féclaz
