Cross-country skiing: a fine collective bronze medal for Les Bleues
On Tuesday morning, on the slopes of Pragelato (Italy), French cross-country skiers Félicie Chappaz, Manon Favre Bonvin, Julie Marciniak and France Pignot, all four members of the Haute-Savoie Nordic Team, won the bronze medal in the relay event at the Turin 2025 World University Games.
After this emotional moment, they tell Nordic Magazine about their day.
Félicie Chappaz: first relay runner
“Personally, I was really pleased to be doing this relay with the girls and I really wanted to do well by giving it my all and enjoying myself. I took the start and I was quite surprised because it didn’t take long before there were three of us in front! I spoke to the girls who were with me at the finish and we weren’t expecting that. We had to get as much of a lead as possible, so the three of us worked together.”
“The Finn was really strong up front, but I fought right to the end to reduce the gap to her and I gave the relay to Manon [Favre Bonvin] with a gap of 12 seconds, and to the Japanese. I’m pretty happy with my stint, even if it wasn’t the smoothest ever! It was so cool. There were lots of French people there to cheer us on, including my parents.”
“Then I went through all kinds of emotions! I was really stressed knowing that we were playing for third place right up until the last lap… France [Pignot] did a great last lap and that gave us the medal! A relay is won by four and lost by four. We won this medal with four people and I’m really proud of the girls and what they gave. I was so happy that I couldn’t hold back the tears at the finish [laughs]! They were tears of happiness. It’s a memory that will stay with us forever. Thanks girls, it was so cool!”
Manon Favre Bonvin: second relay runner
“I’ve been through a lot! I was a bit apprehensive before the start, but I was really looking forward to the race because relays are the best races, especially with my friends. I felt pretty good in the warm-up. Félicie [Chappaz] did a great race and passed me the relay in third place with the Japanese, and the Finn wasn’t far ahead.”
“We skied one lap together and I felt pretty good, but I sensed that the Japanese had better skis than me. So on the second lap, I tried to get into her slipstream, but the glide meant I let go… I lost contact and it was a bit complicated, even though I was giving it everything I had. Then I was up to my ears in [lactic] acid for the whole of the last lap. I completely broke down, I couldn’t feel anything, but I tried not to give up for my friends!”
“I’m handing over to Julie [Marciniak] with a really big deficit and I was angry at myself for cracking up like that… I didn’t even see her take over because I was so exhausted and I couldn’t get up! I didn’t even see her relay because I was so exhausted and couldn’t get up! The girls skated really well until the last lap when France [Pignot] let the Swiss down. So the bronze medal was a relief, because I’d have blamed myself if I’d finished fourth because of the last lap of my relay. Sharing this with the friends I train with all year is incredible and it’s not every day you get to experience something like this. The tears of disappointment turned into tears of joy!”
Julie Marciniak: third relay runner
“I went out to warm up when Félicie [Chappaz] was leaving and I looked around a bit to see what it was like. I saw that she wasn’t sliding like crazy, but she was fighting! I couldn’t wait to get going, in any position, just to get going and do this relay with the girls.”
“Manon [Favre Bonvin] got a bit stuck at the end and she passed the baton to me. One thing that was really cool was all the French supporters, the biathletes who came and the families! We also cheered each other on when we saw each other. I was with the Swiss girl who came third in the individual skate, so the aim was to keep up with her. In the last lap, I tried to attack her, but she took my skis.”
“The relay with France [Pignot] was stressful, but it turned out well! When we saw her coming and there was no one on the skis, it reassured me! We knew it was the only time the four of us were going to race together and it’s a great memory we’ll have together forever.”
France Pignot: fourth relay
“It was crazy to do this relay with the girls I’ve been training with all summer. There was a lot of excitement and expectation because we knew we had something to show for it. Personally, I fell ill on the day of the sprint, last Friday… So I spent three days in a hotel doing virtually nothing. It paid off and I was in decent shape!”
“I took over from the Swiss rider for third place. She did a great first lap and I left a few metres to avoid paying for it later. In the end, we stayed within 10, 15 seconds of each other and, with all the encouragement, I really managed to hurt myself and make up ground until I saw her lose lengths. It was only in the middle of the last lap!”
“I put everything I had into it, I didn’t look back and that did it. At the end, I saw the girls smiling and I didn’t really realise it, I was still in my race. I’d imagined every scenario, including disappointing them, but I just couldn’t imagine it. It’s a great reward for our teamwork and our summer preparation!”
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- Turin: an opening day that whets the French team’s appetite at the World University Games
- Turin: Aubin Gaulier suffers a shoulder injury after the individual skateboard event and is replaced by Hugo Serot at the World University Games
- Turin World University Games: Hugo Serot and Félicie Chappaz take silver in the mixed team sprint skateboard event
- “It’s amazing! It was unexpected”: the astonishment of Hugo Serot and Félicie Chappaz after their silver medal at the World University Games in Turin
- World University Games in Turin: Félicie Chappaz, Manon Favre Bonvin, Julie Marciniak and France Pignot bronze in the relay, Finland takes gold
