Biathlon: Belgium changes coach
In the spring, the Belgian national biathlon team underwent a major shake-up when François ‘Paco’ Soulié took over from Clément Dumont, who resigned of his own accord. The Andorran, who coaches the biathletes from the other side of the Vosges together with Norway’s Margit Dahl Soerensen, has taken over the previously established programme.
In other words, preparation focused on altitude, with long summer courses organised in Bessans (Savoie) and Font-Romeu (Pyrénées-Orientales) just a few months before the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games. Apart from these gatherings, the Belgians worked mainly with two training centres.
The first was at Villard-de-Lans (Isère), led by Paco Soulié and including Maya Cloetens, Sam Parmantier and Julien Petitjacques, with Eve Bouvard, Marine Debloem and Florent Claude joining in from time to time. The second was in Lillehammer (Norway), under the leadership of Margit Dahl Soerensen, with César Beauvais and Lotte Lie under her command. Thierry Langer trained on his own.
A wide range of ambitious objectives
For several days, Belgium has been gathering in Sjusjøen (Norway), where it is back in the snow… and this weekend will be competing in the Norwegian opening races. This will be an opportunity for the technical staff to select César Beauvais and Marek Mackels for the final individual ticket to the World Cup in Kontiolahti (Finland).
“We’ll do that in the sprint on Saturday and the loser will complete the team for the relay. Florent Claude and Thierry Langer are already qualified, explains Paco Soulié to Nordic Magazine. On the women’s side, the trio of Lotte Lie, Maya Cloetens and Eve Bouvard is already known. Rieke de Maeyer will complete the team for the relay.”
There are a number of objectives for the season ahead. “Firstly, the emphasis has been placed on preparing the athletes so that they can last the whole season, without suffering any major setbacks, says the Belgian coach. On the other hand, we’d like the athletes to be able to make a splash by going for a big result from time to time, especially Lotte [Lie] and Florent [Claude], who can claim a top 10 finish if they have a run of full races. The aim is to put in some outstanding performances rather than repeated top 30s without ever breaking into the top 15.”
The importance of shining as a team in the run-up to the 2026 Olympic Games
As for Thierry Langer, Maya Cloetens and Eve Bouvard, the coaching staff would like to see them regularly in the top 30.
“In terms of team objectives, having the girls and boys in the top 20 of the Nations Cup would secure the Olympic relays as well as four individual quotas at the Olympics, reveals François Soulié. But we’re also aiming to get closer to the top 15 in the men’s event, which would give us four World Cup quotas for next season.”
Finally, in the mixed events, Belgium wants to continue to make its mark in the world’s top 8. “It’s a key indicator for the Belgian Olympic Committee,” says the coach.
Photo album of Belgium training in Sjusjøen (Norway)
- Clément Dumont to step down as Belgium coach at the end of the season
- François Soulié takes over from Clément Dumont at the helm of Belgium
- Nove Mesto: who is Marine Debloem, the Franco-Belgian who took part in the World Championship relay at just 18 years of age?
- Why Maya Cloetens decided to become a Belgian sportswoman
- How is Maya Cloetens doing after dislocating her left shoulder?
- Eve Bouvard takes Belgian sporting nationality
