Biathlon: what if the French stars didn’t take part in all the World Cup stages in the run-up to the Olympics?
On Sunday afternoon, following the closing mass-start of the biathlon World Cup in Le Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie), Simon Fourcade appeared in the mixed zone to talk about the magnificent podium finish achieved by Eric Perrot in this race.
At the end of the discussion, when asked about the next steps in the programme, he gave us a piece of information about the likely deadlocks in the run-up to the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games.
“I’m not naming names, but there may be a specific strategy for preparing for the Olympics for some of them, i.e. skipping the month of January to focus on the month of February with maximum freshness and specific preparation,” he told Nordic Magazine, specifying in passing that, if this option were chosen , it would be for the German rounds in Oberhof and Ruhpolding rather than Nove Mesto (Czech Republic).
While the French team is far from accustomed to deadlocks in the build-up to the Olympics, it’ s hard to know just how serious the impasse mentioned by Simon Fourcade is likely to be. A simple skipped race? A complete stage? We’ll have the answer in the next few days.
[With Aymeric Kubica, special correspondent in Le Grand-Bornand].
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- 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 finish in the Grand-Bornand mass-start gives you ideas: “Now I want to hit the ground running a bit harder”.
