Biathlon: France’s women’s density is going to do some damage
This Wednesday afternoon from 4.20pm, the women’s individual short at the Biathlon World Cup in Kontiolahti (Finland) opens a selection period for the French national team.
While there were seven competitors – Julia Simon, Lou Jeanmonnot, Jeanne Richard, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, Gilonne Guigonnat, Sophie Chauveau and Océane Michelon – on the first two legs of the world tour thanks to the extra quota won by the last of them, the reigning IBU Cup winner, there can only be six from Le Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie).
As a result, the Les Bleues coaching staff will have to make a choice at the end of the Austrian races, leaving them five individual races to decide.
“I’m approaching it with a great deal of serenity because I know that each of them knows the rules of the game, Cyril Burdet, the team’s coach, explained to Nordic Magazine. Our aim is to make sure that we have the best performing and most competitive team at international level. So the idea will be to use the whole squad and ensure that the best performing girls are in the place they deserve to be.”
You won’t want to miss out
It has to be said that the French women’s biathlon is performing at every level. Since the start of the winter, the girls in the IBU Cup have racked up a string of podium finishes, including Chloé Chevalier, Camille Bened and Paula Botet. In the Bornand races, if things go badly for several biathletes in the World Cup, two athletes could be relegated, leading to the promotion of a Frenchwoman from the B circuit.
At the moment, however, we’re not there yet. “In the squad, we have girls we’re counting on this year to win medals at the Worlds. But we also have girls who are still in training at a very high level and who still need to get to grips with the World Cup. It’s going to be a clever mix of all that, and we’ll have to find the right balance, adds Cyril Burdet. It’s the performances and results that will count, and it’ll be up to us to be as far-sighted as possible to ensure that each of them is at the top of her game.”
This means that Julia Simon, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Lou Jeanmonnot, the group’s leading players, are in no danger of relegation. Instead, the battle will be between Sophie Chauveau, Gilonne Guigonnat, Jeanne Richard and Océane Michelon.
Pressure to manage
“It puts pressure on us, but it’s still there, says the Haut-Savoyard, Antonin’s younger sister .It doesn’t change much from last year. Instead, I’m trying to use it to give the best of myself without putting too much pressure on myself, just by doing what I know how to do.”
For her part, Océane Michelon says she wants to take part in the Grand-Bornand World Cup as an athlete “a thousand times over”, after attending as a spectator. We know that one of them won’t be there, but that’s a huge motivation too, she says. You can’t get too stressed out about it, you just have to do your job well and give it your best shot. Whatever the circuit, you have to do a good biathlon and keep learning! I’m far from having seen and experienced everything.”
“That’s where we’ll see the girls able to handle the pressure and use it to give their best,” confirms Julia Simon.
- Paragraph 15.6.3.c. of the IBU competition rules: this point of the rules allows the French women’s team to start the 2024/2025 World Cup with seven players.
- “Great news”: Stéphane Bouthiaux, head of the French teams, is delighted with Océane Michelon’s overall victory at the IBU Cup.
- Thanks to Julia Simon’s one-two finish in Nove Mesto, the French women’s team will have five quotas in the sprint at the 2025 World Championships in Lenzerheide.
- Lou Jeanmonnot, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Julia Simon complete two relays in Kontiolahti: “Optimising their preparation before the first individual races”.
- Kontiolahti: Julia Simon undergoes an MRI scan early this afternoon
- Kontiolahti: still uncertain about Julia Simon’s state of health on the eve of the individual short race
