Biathlon: the Summer Tour d’Arçon gets underway for Les Bleus
This Saturday and Sunday, the cream of French biathlon meets up in Arçon (Doubs) for the first leg of the Summer Tour 2025. The national sprint and pursuit titles will be at stake.
Although this event is traditionally scheduled a month later and usually serves as a final trial run before putting on cross-country skis again, it has been brought forward this year to allow the best French biathletes, who are busy with the Loop One Festival in Munich (Germany) on 19 October, to take part.
Despite this change of date, the races organised at the Florence Baverel stadium have not lost their importance.
“Arçon is always a very important part of an athlete’s preparation, as it marks the start of a more intensive block of racing and enables them to fine-tune their preparation for the winter,” Stéphane Bouthiaux, director of the French teams, tells Nordic Magazine.
The first full-scale test of the preparation
The competitions in the Saugeais come at the end of a long altitude training camp for Les Bleus in Antholz (Italy), the site of the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games. The perfect opportunity, despite the fatigue, to test themselves.
The athletes are arriving directly in Arçon from Italy,” adds the French biathlon boss. They’ll be a little less fresh but they’ll all be on an equal footing, which promises a great show.
It’s the first real weekend of competition, which we usually have at this stage of our preparation, in September,” explains Cyril Burdet, the coach of the women’s group. It’s part of our preparation, where we’re starting to do more and more times, competitions and race numbers.
“Arçon remains a special place for summer biathlon, where everyone wants to perform well”.
So, even if the World Cup does not start for more than three months, the Summer Tour supported by theESSS Montbenoît of the charismatic Joël Pourchet has a key role to play in the French team’s Olympic preparations.
“It’s an important moment because the Arçon races remain the major French summer event in our preparation,” says Simon Fourcade, the men’s team coach.
“Arçon remains a special place for summer biathlon, and everyone wants to do well there,” concludes his colleague Cyril Burdet.
The full programme for the Summer Tour biathlon in Arçon (Doubs)
Friday 19 September
- 9.00-10.30am: Official training session 1
- 10.45am-12.15pm: official training session 2
- 12.45pm-2.15pm: Official training session 3
- 14:30-16:00: Official training session 4
- 5.30pm: Race committee at the clubhouse
Saturday 20th September
- 8.15-9.00: U17 men’s and women’s rifle inspection
- 8.45am-9.50am: U17 men’s and women’s shooting trials
- 10.00am: U17 men’s 6km sprint and U17 women’s 4.5km sprint
- 11.15am-11.45am: U19/U21/Senior women’s rifle inspection
- 11.45am: U17 men’s and women’s prize-giving ceremony
- 11.45am-12.35pm: U19/U21/Senior women shooting trials
- 12.45pm: U19/U21/Women’s 7.5km sprint (French senior championships)
- 1.45pm-2.30pm: U19/U21/Senior men rifle inspection
- 2.15pm: U19/U21/Senior women’s prize-giving ceremony
- 2.15pm-3.20pm: U19/U21/Senior Men shooting trials
- 3.30pm: U19/U21/Seniors men 10km sprint (French seniors championships)
- 5pm: U19/U21/Senior Men prize-giving ceremony
Sunday 21 September
- 8:00-8:30: U17 men’s and women’s rifle inspection
- 8.30am-9.20am: U17 men’s and women’s shooting trials
- 9.30am: U17 women’s 6km pursuit
- 10.10am: U17 men’s 8km pursuit
- 10:30-11:00: U19 men’s and women’s rifle inspection
- 11.00: U17 men’s and women’s prize-giving ceremony
- 11.00-11.50am: U19 men’s and women’s shooting trials
- 12.00: U19 women’s 9 km pursuit
- 12.50pm: U19 men’s 10km pursuit
- 1.15pm-2pm: U21/Senior men’s and women’s rifle inspection
- 1.45pm-2.50pm: Shooting trials U21/Seniors men and women
- 2pm: U19 men’s and women’s prize-giving ceremony
- 2.45pm: U21/Women’s 10km pursuit (French senior championships)
- 3.35pm: U21/Seniors men 12.5km pursuit (French seniors championships)
- 4.30pm: U21/Senior men’s and women’s prize-giving ceremony
