Biathlon: all the French team groups in training this summer in Ceillac
On the list of training camps scheduled for the French teams in the summer of 2025, Ceillac (Hautes-Alpes) is the destination for all the groups. This village of less than 300 inhabitants in the Queyras region will play host to the country’s top biathletes over the coming months.
Why should it be? Quite simply, and first and foremost, because a brand new biathlon stadium, due to open in December 2023, is located here. “Last autumn, Antonin and Gilonne Guigonnat, who have family in the Queyras, came to Ceillac for training sessions. I think that helped raise the profile of the site within the French team,” Guillaume Caillat, who manages the stadium, tells Nordic Magazine.
Featuring loops of 900 m, 1.5 km and 2.5 km with gradients, a 16-target shooting range and a weight room, this facility is also at an altitude of 1,650 metres… the same as the site of the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games.
“That’s the first reason we came to Ceillac, explains Cyril Burdet, coach of the Women’s World Cup squad. The site allows us to follow the logic that we want to maintain this year on this point.” An opinion fully shared by Simon Fourcade, his alter ego on the men’s side, who even had a few ideas: “I tried to arrange a training camp there just before the Games, but it won’t happen in the end”, he regrets.
“We’re in the heart of the Queyras Regional Nature Park, where there’s so much to do!
From 15 to 25 July, right in the middle of summer, the French team will be heading to Queyras for a major preparation camp. “We hope to be able to do some very good work there,” says Simon Fourcade, who has been briefed on the specific features of the stadium by his friend Frédéric Jean, who is based in the Hautes-Alpes and responsible for promoting the site.
The other reason why Les Bleus have decided to head south in July is because of access to the mountains. “At this time of year, we put a lot of emphasis on aerobic volume, and the Queyras is an incredible playground for mountain activities,” enthuses Cyril Burdet.
This is confirmed by Guillaume Caillat, the owner of the resort: “For volume sessions on ski-wheels and road bikes, there are some major passes around Ceillac, such as the Col d’Izoard, the Col Agnel and the Col de Vars. We’re in the heart of the Queyras Regional Nature Park, where there’s so much to do!”
A new training site
Finally, the trip to Ceillac gives members of the French teams the chance to explore a new playing field, different from the facilities at Prémanon (Jura), Bessans (Savoie) or Font-Romeu (Pyrénées-Orientales), which are usually used year after year.
“It’s the first of its kind in the Southern Alps, confirms Simon Fourcade. It’s good for the development of biathlon in this massif, which has been neglected until now.”
The full list of courses for the French biathlon teams this summer in Ceillac
- 18-26 June: Men’s EDF B
- 15-25 July: Men’s EDF A
- 16-25 July: Women’s EDF A and Women’s EDF B
- 24-28 October: Men’s and women’s Excellence 2030 groups
Ceillac biathlon stadium photo album
- Prémanon, Corrençon-en-Vercors, Ceillac, Bessans, Antholz, Font-Romeu and Geilo: the full 2025/2026 preparatory programme for the French senior men’s team
- Prémanon, Ceillac, Bessans, Antholz and Ramsau: the full 2025/2026 preparatory programme for the French senior women’s team
- Prémanon, Ceillac, Bessans and Font-Romeu: the full 2025/2026 preparatory programme for the French men’s B team
- Prémanon, Ceillac, Bessans and Ramsau: the full 2025/2026 preparatory programme for the French women’s B team
- Lots of Prémanon, Font-Romeu, Ceillac and Bessans: the full 2025/2026 preparation programme for the Excellence 2030 groups
