Biathlon: start of the final gathering of the French women’s team
A few days after the men’s group put their cross-country skis back on in Geilo (Norway), it was the turn of the French women’s biathlon team to launch the final training camp in their Olympic preparations. As has been the case for the last three years, the athletes coached by Cyril Burdet, Jean-Paul Giachino and Patrick Favre will conclude their training programme in Bessans (Savoie).
It has a special connotation because it’s the start of the home straight,” Cyril Burdet explains to Nordic Magazine. We’ll be doing less work in terms of quantity and a lot more in terms of quality, both technically on the skis and behind the rifle.
With the exception of Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, who didn’t go to Ramsau (Austria) last month, this training camp in Bessau is not the first on-snow training camp for the French women.
“In my experience, it saves us time in the very first sessions. You can imagine that it won’t take long for the girls to switch from wheel skiing to cross-country skiing,” says the French coach. The challenge in Ramsau was to continue the volume work and add some specific skiing, whereas in Bessans we’re getting right to the heart of the matter.
“As we’re still in the preparation phase, the aim will be to get our settings right”.
On 15 and 16 November, the focus will be on the closing races of the course (a sprint and a mass-start), just two weeks before the start of the World Cup.
The times at the end of our preparation, even if they don’t have any particular stakes, will be important to get the right reference points,” says Cyril Burdet. As we’re still in the preparation phase, the aim will be to make the right adjustments to race management, to set benchmarks for shooting at race speeds and, overall, to raise the intensity levels one last time before the first international competitions.
All this with one aim in mind: to avoid getting carried away before the start of the World Cup. The aim is to stay focused on preparation, because we still have a few weeks to fine-tune the final adjustments,” confirms the Savoyard coach. One of the challenges at the start of the season is to be in the moment. Thinking about what comes next is all very well, but we mustn’t forget that what comes next is prepared by doing things right, day after day.
Last World Cup tickets at stake
During these first races on snow, as well as the one on 18 November, the last places for the first two stages of the World Cup will be decided between Camille Bened, Voldiya Galmace-Paulin, Paula Botet, Gilonne Guigonnat, Amandine Mengin and Sophie Chauveau.
“They’re very well prepared by Julien [Robert] and Baptiste [Desthieux] so I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on them, but only on race days,” says Cyril Burdet.
A course without Julia Simon
The decision of the French Ski Federation’s (FFS) National Disciplinary Commission, which met late on Thursday afternoon, was made public in the evening, but it means that Julia Simon will not be taking part in this federal training camp. La Beaufortaine has been banned from “taking part in competitions and training sessions organised or authorised by the FFS and the IBU” for six months, five of which are suspended.
The sanction takes effect on Friday 7 November. The ten-time world champion will also be unable to take part in the World Cup in Östersund (Sweden), scheduled from 29 November to 7 December.
- Prémanon, Ceillac, Bessans, Antholz and Ramsau: the full 2025/2026 preparatory programme for the French senior women’s team
- 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?
- Camille Bened, Voldiya Galmace-Paulin, Paula Botet, Gilonne Guigonnat, Amandine Mengin and Sophie Chauveau: they will be fighting for two World Cup tickets in Bessans.
- Cyril Burdet on how the last two Frenchwomen were selected for the start of the World Cup: “The best way to ensure we have the best possible team”.
- Three races in four days, two sprints and a mass-start: the programme and dates for the traditional FFS selections in Bessans.
- “Going head-to-head with the world’s elite”: departure day in Norway for the French men’s team, expected on the snow in Geilo for the final training camp in their Olympic preparations.
- The penalty has been imposed: Julia Simon has been suspended for six months, five of which have been suspended, by the French Ski Federation’s National Disciplinary Commission.
