Biathlon: Les Bleus finally win the World Cup
As we all remember, the French became world relay champions in February 2023 in Oberhof (Germany), but they hadn’t won a World Cup race for ages.
Until then, you had to go back to 23 January 2021 to find a record of success for France on the world circuit. That was in Antholz (Italy), a week after another victory in Ruhpolding (Germany).
This Sunday afternoon in Kontiolahti (Finland), that statistic was shattered as Fabien Claude, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Eric Perrot and Emilien Jacquelin triumphantly won the first relay of the 2024/2025 season. A first for 1,408 days, or 3 years, 10 months and 9 days.
Norway lost a World Cup relay for the first time since 15 January 2022 in Ruhpolding (Germany)… when the B team was fielded just a few weeks before the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games. Norway’s last ‘real’ defeat came on 5 March 2021, in Nove Mesto (Czech Republic).
Live data from the relays
- Kontiolahti: French relay triumphs for Fabien Claude, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Eric Perrot and Emilien Jacquelin
- Lou Jeanmonnot, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Julia Simon complete two relays in Kontiolahti: “Optimising their preparation before the first individual races”.
- The verdict is in: Emilien Claude and Antonin Guigonnat join Kontiolahti and the World Cup
- “There was no ambiguity”: Stéphane Bouthiaux explains to Nordic Magazine why Emilien Claude and Antonin Guigonnat won their place in the World Cup
- Kontiolahti: Lou Jeanmonnot, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, Eric Perrot and Emilien Jacquelin beat Norway to the finish in the mixed relay
- Kontiolahti: why Emilien Jacquelin was caught by Vebjoern Soerum when he still had a 10-second lead with 600 metres to go
- “I stuck to the plan”: a perfect shot, Eric Perrot had an ideal start to the season in the mixed relay in Kontiolahti.
- Kontiolahti: Quentin Fillon-Maillet and Julia Simon second in the mixed singles relay behind Sweden and ahead of Germany
- Kontiolahti: the technical problem that prevented Simon Eder’s Austria from securing a podium finish in the mixed singles relay
- How Julia Simon experienced her first World Cup race of the winter: “It was a bit like releasing the wildcats, it was electric”.
- The full programme for the Kontiolahti World Cup, the first stage of the 2024/2025 season
- Corinne Niogret: my best memory of… Kontiolahti
- The French mixed relays lining up for Saturday’s World Cup opener in Kontiolahti
- Kontiolahti: an opening day without Johannes Thingnes Boe, Hanna Oeberg, Endre Stroemsheim, Anna Gandler, Sturla Holm Lægreid, Johannes Kuehn or Tarjei Boe
- Kontiolahti: the reasons why the French men’s team is starting the World Cup with just four biathletes
- Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet and Antonin Guigonnat victorious, Italy triumphant, Martin Fourcade rested: what happened the last time mixed World Cup races were held in Kontiolahti
- Top 3 nations cup target for France: the hunt for Olympic quotas for Milan/Cortina 2026, the other key issue of the 2024/2025 season
