Biathlon: Les Bleues in Bessans while the French are in Norway
At the beginning of November, the French biathlon teams are not in the same place. For once, the men’s and women’s groups have chosen different places to finish their preparations: the men’s team led by Simon Fourcade and Jean Pierre-Amat are in Sjusjøen (Norway), while the women’s team led by Cyril Burdet, Jean-Paul Giachino and Patrick Favre are training on the snowfarm in Bessans (Savoie).
A surprising choice at first sight for Julia Simon, Lou Jeanmonnot, Jeanne Richard, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, Gilonne Guigonnat, Sophie Chauveau and Océane Michelon, the seven athletes who will start their winter in the World Cup. Surprisingly, they won’t be able to test themselves against the best Norwegians or Swedes, for example, before the season gets underway.
“We already made this choice last year, so we’re following the same preparation schedule, Cyril Burdet explains to Nordic Magazine. There are several reasons for this: continuing the altitude work we’ve been doing with the girls for the last two seasons to prepare for the 2026 Olympic Games in Antholz, the proximity which is an advantage if we have to deal with illness or unforeseen circumstances, and we’re lucky to have a high density of girls in France. The confrontations with the B and junior groups will do the trick to make the final adjustments.”
“With this in mind, the girls are able to generate a little more confidence than the boys before the season”
The hyper-competitiveness of all the strata of French women’s biathlon means that the World Cup group has the luxury of not having to fly to Scandinavia just a few weeks before the start of the World Cup… unlike Oscar Lombardot, Fabien Claude, Eric Perrot, Quentin Fillon-Maillet and Emilien Jacquelin.
“On the strength of this, the girls are able to generate a little more confidence than the boys before the season. That’s why we decided to go up to Norway to take part in races with all the best Norwegians and to be up against them before the World Cup,” concludes Simon Fourcade.
- “Doing specific work at race pace”: the French women’s team launches its final training camp of the preparation period on the snow at Bessans on Friday.
- Julia Simon, Lou Jeanmonnot, Jeanne Richard, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, Gilonne Guigonnat, Sophie Chauveau and Océane Michelon training on the snow at Bessans: photo album
- Les Bleues gather in Aix-les-Bains for the first training camp of their summer preparations
- The French women’s team in training at Prémanon: photo album of Julia Simon, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, Lou Jeanmonnot, Jeanne Richard, Gilonne Guigonnat, Sophie Chauveau and Océane Michelon in training
- “Cyril Burdet explains why Julia Simon, Lou Jeanmonnot, Gilonne Guigonnat and Sophie Chauveau are skiing in Tignes.
- Les Bleues begin their training camp at Vassieux-en-Vercors
- “I’m not going to spare the troops”: Cyril Burdet’s Les Bleues arrive in Norway for their fourth training camp
- With the French team in training at Bessans
- The French team heads to Lenzerheide for a training camp, site of the next World Championships
- Back on snow: the photo album of the French women’s team on cross-country skis in Ramsau
- “Creating a special bond with the site that will host the Games in 2026”: Justine Braisaz-Bouchet explains why she chose to skip the Ramsau training camp to go and train with her family in Antholz.
- Last season in review, new goals, two projects… Justine Braisaz-Bouchet is the guest of Nordic Magazine : “It’s not always easy to combine my two lives”.
- Justine Braisaz-Bouchet talks to Nordic Magazine about the end of her career: “I’ll take stock after the 2026 Olympics, but it’s hard to think about 2030”.
- “I’ve proved to myself that I’m capable of great things”: how Gilonne Guigonnat took off last winter and hopes to continue her success this season.
- Océane Michelon is the guest of Nordic Magazine: “Starting the season on the World Cup, the circuit I’ve wanted to be on for a long time, is very encouraging”.
