Biathlon: Les Bleues train in Ramsau for ten days or so
It‘s already time for the French biathletes to return to their training camp. First up on Tuesday, the women’s A and B groups, minus Justine Braisaz-Bouchet who has opted to stay with her family in Bessans (Savoie) this October, are travelling by minibus to Ramsau (Austria).
In Styria, Les Bleues will be able to get back on their skis on the Dachstein glacier, where it has been snowing for the last few days.
“The fact that we’ll be able to put our cross-country skis back on is one of the real pluses of this reunion. We won’t necessarily be going up every day, but we still plan to make the most of our trip there to practise our skills on the snow,” Cyril Burdet, coach of the French women’s team, told Nordic Magazine.
“The other objective is to do a lot of high-intensity work on the ski/wheel track”.
In Austria, the Tricolores won’t just be training on the snow, with sessions scheduled on the Styrian biathlon stadium.
As we enter the final preparation phase, the other objective is to do a lot of high-intensity work on the ski-wheel track and an internal time trial in the second week, once everyone is acclimatised and we’ve settled in,” confirms the Savoyard coach. It’s a site that I particularly like because I think there’s a really interesting variety of training for the period. It allows us to put in some quality days.
Célia Henaff from Beaufort is particularly enthusiastic about the prospect of skiing from the beginning of October: “It’s going to be fun because we’re getting a bit bored of ski-dooing,” she says. What’s more, I’ve never been to Ramsau, so it’s nice to have a change of scene!
The men head for Font-Romeu
The men’s group, again the A and B squads combined, will be in Font-Romeu (Pyrénées-Orientales) from Tuesday until October 17. The course follows a week of altitude training undertaken by the biathletes themselves, at the request of the staff.
I have the impression that the guys are in a good mood and have a good dynamic,” enthuses Simon Fourcade, the coach who is still without Emilien Claude, who underwent surgery a month ago for a herniated disc. This pre-training session is always good for them as they look ahead to the next one. Font-Romeu is a slightly less common course, but one that they all enjoy. We’re hoping the weather will be kind so we can fill up on vitamin D before the darker days in Scandinavia at the start of winter!
The Loop One Festival or the Summer Tour of La Féclaz to round off the course
Housed in new accommodation, the French team will be training day after day in a resort in Rome that their coach knows like the back of his hand.
I can say goodnight to my mother every evening in 10 minutes,” laughs Simon Fourcade. It’s quite nice to know the place well, because it makes it much easier to offer even more relevant sessions.
For both the men’s and women’s groups, competitions will be on the programme at the end of the course: the front-runners will be heading to Munich (Germany) to compete in the Loop One Festival, while the rest of the group will be heading to La Féclaz (Savoie) for the second leg of the Summer Tour.
The official composition of the French biathlon teams for the 2025/2026 season
France A 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 – ARMÉE DE CHAMPIONS / Bauges Nordic Skiing (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) 🇫🇷
The full programme of courses for the various federal biathlon groups
French Men’s A Team
- 7-17 October: Font-Romeu (then participation in the Loop One Festival in Munich or the Summer Tour at La Féclaz)
- 4-16 November: Geilo (with participation in the Norwegian opening races)
French women’s A team
- 7-17 October: Ramsau (then participation in the Loop One Festival in Munich)
- 7-18 November: Bessans
French men’s B team
- 7-16 October: Font-Romeu (then participation in the Summer Tour at La Féclaz)
- 5-18 November: Bessans
French women’s B team
- 7-16 October: Ramsau (then participation in the Summer Tour at La Féclaz)
- 5-18 November: Bessans
- Font-Romeu then Geilo for the boys, Ramsau and Bessans for the girls: after the Antholz training camp and the Summer Tour in Arçon, what kind of end to the preparation for the French team?
- “Going for high altitude”: why Eric Perrot is taking part in a training camp on the Spanish island of Tenerife with Quentin Fillon-Maillet and Oscar Lombardot
- Simon Fourcade on Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Eric Perrot and Oscar Lombardot’s decision to train in Tenerife: “I have no problem with them exploring a new place”.
- “She chose to stay with her family for the month of October”: no training camp in Ramsau for Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, currently in Bessans
