Biathlon: French biathletes train together
Early on Tuesday afternoon, when the composition of the French biathlon teams for the 2025/2026 season was unveiled, the presence of five women in the A training group came as a surprise to many. In fact, only Lou Jeanmonnot, Julia Simon, Océane Michelon, Jeanne Richard and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet will be training under the trio of Cyril Burdet, Patrick Favre and Jean-Paul Giachino.
This smaller group will allow the coaches to concentrate fully on preparing each team for the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games, just a few months away.
Like every year, there are training groups, which were announced [on Tuesday], and statutory groups, which are no more important than that,” Stéphane Bouthiaux, director of the French teams, told Nordic Magazine. So, for the first time, we have girls with A status, Paula Botet and Sophie Chauveau, who will be in training group B, with Julien Robert and Baptiste Desthieux as coaches.
Work placements split between Group A and Group B
Except that this separation between the two groups is more administrative than effective. The girls will do almost all the training courses together, groups A and B mixed, with the five coaches present to supervise them,” reveals the head of French biathlon. The only two meetings where they won’t be involved will be the NOC meeting [at the end of May on the Giens peninsula, editor’s note] and the Antholz meeting, on the Olympic site, in September.
The other reason why the French staff have put together a large B group of eight biathletes is to put them on an equal footing at the start of next season, when the last two tickets for the start of the World Cup will be up for grabs.
Departures and arrivals in Group B
Finally, there has been a shake-up in the composition of the B team , with the retirements of Caroline Colombo and Chloé Chevalier, the disappointing performances of some and the remarkable results of others. Joining Gilonne Guigonnat, Paula Botet, Sophie Chauveau, Camille Bened and Anaëlle Bondoux will be three newcomers: Voldiya Galmace-Paulin, Amandine Mengin and Célia Henaff.
For Fany [Bertrand], Léonie [Jeannier] and Lisa [Siberchicot], it’s clearly a lack of results that cost them their place,” says Stéphane Bouthiaux. It’s not that they’re bad or that they don’t have potential, but at some point you can’t take everyone and you have to make choices. Given the level shown by Voldiya [Galmace-Paulin], Amandine [Mengin] and Célia [Henaff], they’ll naturally take the tickets.
The official composition of the French biathlon teams for the 2025/2026 season
France Team
Ladies
- Justine Braisaz-Bouchet – DOUANE / Club des Sports des Saisies (Savoie) 🇫🇷
- Lou Jeanmonnot – ARMY OF CHAMPIONS / Olympic Mont d’Or (Massif Jurassien) 🇫🇷
- Océane Michelon – Bauges Ski Nordique (Savoie) 🇫🇷
- Jeanne Richard – POLICE NATIONALE / Les Gets Ski Competition (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Julia Simon – DOUANE / Club des Sports des Saisies (Savoie) 🇫🇷
Men
- Emilien Claude – ARMÉE DE CHAMPIONS / Basse sur Le Rupt Nordic skiing (Massif des Vosges) 🇫🇷
- Fabien Claude – ARMÉE DE CHAMPIONS / Basse sur Le Rupt Nordic skiing (Massif des Vosges) 🇫🇷
- Quentin Fillon-Maillet – DOUANE / Ski Club du Grandvaux (Massif Jurassien) 🇫🇷
- Emilien Jacquelin – DOUANE / CS Nordique Villard de Lans (Dauphiné) 🇫🇷
- Eric Perrot – ARMÉE DE CHAMPIONS / Ski Club Peisey-Vallandry (Savoie) 🇫🇷
- Oscar Lombardot – Entente Sportive Saugette (Massif Jurassien) 🇫🇷
- Antonin Guigonnat – ARMY OF CHAMPIONS / Ski Club Morzine Avoriaz (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
France B Team
Ladies
- Paula Botet – ARMÉE DE CHAMPIONS / La Bressaude Ski Section (Massif des Vosges) 🇫🇷
- Sophie Chauveau – ARMÉE DE CHAMPIONS / Ski Club Grand Bornand (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Camille Bened – Ski Club Chablais Nordic (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Anaëlle Bondoux – GUC Grenoble Ski (Dauphiné) 🇫🇷
- Voldiya Galmace-Paulin – Ski Club Villard sur Boëge (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Célia Henaff – Ski Club Arèches Beaufort (Savoie) 🇫🇷
- Gilonne Guigonnat – Ski Club Villard sur Boëge (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Amandine Mengin – La Bressaude Ski Section (Massif des Vosges) 🇫🇷
Men
- Martin Botet – Club des Sports Les Ménuires (Savoie) 🇫🇷
- Axel Garnier – Ski Club Sallanches Tête Noire (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Edgar Geny – Ski Club Sallanches Tête Noire (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Théo Guiraud-Poillot – Ski Club Villard sur Boëge (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Corentin Jacob – Club des Sports La Féclaz (Savoie) 🇫🇷
- Valentin Lejeune – Basse sur Le Rupt Nordic skiing (Massif des Vosges) 🇫🇷
- Damien Levet – Ski Club Grand Bornand (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Gaëtan Paturel – Ski Club Nordique Pays Rochois (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
Excellence 2030 Group
Ladies
- Lola Bugeaud – Megève Nordic Skiing (Mont-Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Namou Candau-Armand – Bauges Nordic skiing (Savoie) 🇫🇷
- Lou-Anne Dupont Ballet-Baz – Club des Sports La Clusaz (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Coralie Perrin – Club des Sports La Féclaz (Savoie) 🇫🇷
- Louise Roguet – Ski Club Nordique Praz-de-Lys-Sommand (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
Men
- Léo Carlier – Ski Club Val de Morteau (Massif Jurassien) 🇫🇷
- Antonin Delsol – Club des Sports La Féclaz (Savoie) 🇫🇷
- Camille Grataloup-Manissolle – CS Nordique Villard de Lans (Dauphiné) 🇫🇷
- Antonin Guy – GUC Grenoble Ski (Dauphiné) 🇫🇷
- Flavio Guy – Risoux Club Chaux Neuve (Massif Jurassien) 🇫🇷
- Guillaume Poirot – La Bressaude Ski Section (Massif des Vosges) 🇫🇷
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- 2025/2026 season: the complete selection of the French senior women’s team
- 2025/2026 season: the complete selection of the French men’s B team
- 2025/2026 season: the complete selection of the French women’s B team
- 2025/2026 season: the full selection of the men’s Excellence 2030 group
- Season 2025/2026: the full selection of the women’s Excellence 2030 group
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- 2025/2026 season: the full selection of the men’s Excellence 2030 group
- Season 2025/2026: the full selection of the women’s Excellence 2030 group
- Ski jumping: the make-up of the French teams for the 2025/2026 season… with newcomer Louis Obersteiner and leaders Joséphine Pagnier and Valentin Foubert
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- 2025/2026 season: the full selection of French women’s teams
- Nordic Combined: the composition of the French teams for the 2025/2026 season
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