Biathlon: the Loop One Festival, a thorn in the side of the French team’s summer programme
From May to November, the preparation season for the biathletes in the French team is punctuated by a series of compulsory stages. Traditionally, after a series of compulsory tests to launch hostilities and take stock of their bodies, a period of volume is scheduled in the middle of the summer before gradually increasing intensity as winter approaches.
In this context, the autumn competitions are good points of passage, especially important for the athletes and staff to put figures on their state of form. The Summer Tour races – one round in mid-September, another on the third weekend of October in Arçon (Doubs) just before you put your skis back on – are decisive moments.
This year, all that well-established planning had to be modified by the creation of the Loop One Festival in Munich (Germany), an urban show organised on 20 and 21 October by the IBU to open the season by bringing together the world’s best biathletes.
“We would have liked to have known more than a year in advance”
It’s not so much the creation of this event that is posing a problem for the French biathlon boss, but its late announcement – the official announcement was made on 15 January – and its appearance during the preparations leading up to the 2026 Olympics.
Stéphane Bouthiaux admits: “The fact that they are scheduling this new event in an Olympic year has upset us. We would have liked to have known about it more than a year in advance, because we had to adapt everything to this event.” As a result, the Summer Tour d’Arçon has been moved to September and the one at La Féclaz (Savoie) will take place in October.
“On the other hand, I think this Loop One Festival is going to be a great success and a great spectacle with some great biathlon races,” concludes Martin Fourcade‘s former coach.
The French senior biathlon team’s training programme for the 2025/2026 season
Ladies
- 12-14 May: Prémanon 🇫🇷
- 26-30 May: CNOSF pre-Olympic gathering on the Presqu’île de Giens 🇫🇷
- 23-29 June: Prémanon 🇫🇷
- 16-25 July: Ceillac 🇫🇷
- 12-23 August: Bessans 🇫🇷
- 8-18 September: Antholz 🇮🇹 (then participation in the Summer Tour d’Arçon)
- 7-17 October: Ramsau 🇦🇹 (then participation in the Loop One Festival in Munich)
- 7-18 November: Bessans 🇫🇷
Men
- 12-14 May: Prémanon 🇫🇷
- 26-30 May: CNOSF pre-Olympic gathering on the Presqu’île de Giens 🇫🇷
- 14-20 June: Corrençon-en-Vercors 🇫🇷
- 30 June-2 July: Prémanon 🇫🇷
- 15-25 July: Ceillac 🇫🇷
- 12-24 August: Bessans 🇫🇷
- 8-18 September: Antholz 🇮🇹 (then participation in the Summer Tour d’Arçon)
- 7-17 October: Font-Romeu 🇫🇷 (then participation in the Loop One Festival in Munich or the Summer Tour in La Féclaz)
- 4-16 November: Geilo 🇳🇴 (with participation in the Norwegian opening races)
- The IBU launches the Loop One Festival, the opening event of the 2025/2026 season in Munich
- Loop One Festival: the opening of the 2025/2026 season is (already) less than 6 months away
- The IBU’s urban show at the start of the season has changed the Summer Tour schedule: the first stage will take place in Arçon in September, the second in La Féclaz in October.
- “Why the French team won’t be taking part in the Blink Festival training camp in Norway this summer.
