Biathlon: French men’s relay team aiming for Olympic gold
This season more than ever, only one relay will count: the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games relay on 17 February at the Südtirol Arena in Antholz (Italy). For the French team, which has yet to win a title in the sport, this event has been on the calendar for a long time.
There‘s this desire to go out and win a medal in the relay,” Emilien Jacquelin told Nordic Magazine in October. After a great year in this format [they won all five World Cup races last winter, editor’s note], we can do it! We were proud four years ago to win a silver medal, something we hadn’t done since 2006.
It’s a memory that still moves Fabien Claude from the Vosges: “I saw Stéphane Bouthiaux crying with happiness after the relay’s Olympic silver medal in 2022. It was an important moment and just talking about it gives me chills,” recalls the biathlete from Basse-sur-le-Rupt (Vosges). It was a real communion for us all.
“It would be a powerful thing, especially as it’s never been done before”.
If they are to achieve their collective dream, Les Bleus will be able to rely on their strength. Seven biathletes have a reasonable chance of qualifying for the Olympics, and all of them have a place in a possible Olympic relay: Eric Perrot, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Emilien Jacquelin, Fabien Claude, Emilien Claude, Antonin Guigonnat and Oscar Lombardot.
“We have a group that stands out in men’s biathlon for its consistency and overall results. We want to take advantage of that,” says the Dauphinois in the group. We have a really strong team with a new generation that is now well established,” adds Quentin Fillon-Maillet. During this Olympic preparation, we’ve seen a real density in the group.
It would be a great achievement, especially as it’s never been done before,” adds Fabien Claude. We don’t talk about it much amongst ourselves, but I think we all have this objective in mind.
“Putting athletes in the best possible shape”.
An objective shared by the staff, starting with Simon Fourcade. For the Catalan, the recipe for success in the Olympic gold mission is simple: enable his flock to string together four consecutive top-class individual races.
We’re not a football team where you need synergy in the team for things to work well,” he says. After what’s happened recently with the French women’s team, we’ve realised that the team’s dominance isn’t necessarily correlated with the group’s good understanding!
The aim is to push the athletes to the maximum of their possibilities and potential,” continues Simon Fourcade. After that, the magic of the relay will take care of itself. […] The idea is simply to put the athletes in the best possible frame of mind and to be able to put together the most relevant relay possible, based on the strengths and weaknesses of each athlete.
On Saturday, during the first relay of the winter in Östersund (Sweden), the fickle wind and the two penalty laps taken by Fabien Claude at the start prevented the French team, second behind Norway at the finish, from going 100%.
“If, in the end, this year the roles are reversed compared to last year and we take the top step in the February relay, everyone will be satisfied,” said Emilien Jacquelin in the mixed zone before stepping onto the podium. In such a case, the achievement would be resounding and historic.
- The full programme for the Östersund World Cup, the first stage of the 2025/2026 season
- Caroline Colombo: my best memory of… Österusnd
- Without Julia Simon, who is suspended: the full French team selection for the Östersund World Cup, the first stage of the Olympic winter season
- Östersund: Dorothea Wierer and Lisa Vittozzi team up for the first winter relay
- Östersund: Johanna Skottheim and Sara Andersson complete the women’s squad, no relay for Elvira Oeberg
- The four girls in Group A line up for the first race of the winter: the composition of the French women’s relay in Östersund
- The premium team to start in Östersund: the French men’s relay team
- 66 podium finishes, including 29 victories: the all-time record the French team is aiming for in the 2025/2026 season.
- “When it performs, it creates momentum”: the relays on the opening weekend of the World Cup in Östersund, important events to get the French team on the right track
- Östersund: Jeanne Richard, Océane Michelon, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Lou Jeanmonnot dominate the women’s relay, the first race of the winter season
- “It’s a great team effort”: on their first outing of the winter in Östersund, Les Bleues have already won the World Cup
- Östersund: Italy’s Michaela Carrara, Dorothea Wierer, Lisa Vittozzi and Hannah Auchentaller comment on their second place in the women’s relay
- “It’s a dream come true”: six years later, the Czech Republic clinches a podium finish in the women’s relay in Östersund
- France in gold, Italy ecstatic, Germany stunned: the women’s relay in Östersund as seen by the European press
- “It was really cool”: Austria came close to its first World Cup podium in the women’s relay in Östersund
- “I’m just scared”: Ingrid Landmark Tandrvold’s nightmare on the relay in Östersund
- Östersund: France’s Fabien Claude, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Emilien Jacquelin and Eric Perrot second in the relay won by Norway
- “A good relay in tempo”: behind the Norwegians in the Östersund relay, the French get their winter off to a good start
- First World Cup relay for Camille Bened: the French teams for the mixed relay and the mixed singles relay in Östersund
