Cross-country skiing: courses in Prémanon and Les Saisies
The French cross-country ski team has made a clear decision: there will be no French cross-country skiers at the Cross-Country Skiing World Cup in Oberhof (Germany) next weekend. This is a decision fully endorsed by the French coaching staff, who are favouring a preparation phase with a view to the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games.
“We had planned to do a preparation camp with a large part of the World Cup group, but not at Oberhof. The coaches chose this period, which seems appropriate with the resumption of high-level competition at the Goms World Cup [from January 23, editor’s note]. It’s really a plan to prepare for the second half of the season”, explains Olivier Michaud, head of the French teams, to Nordic Magazine.
No B team sent to Oberhof, a total stalemate
The deadlock is complete for the French in Germany : “We’re not taking any athletes from the French B team. I’m not convinced that there are many people in Oberhof [in terms of foreigners, editor’s note]. It’s a purely sporting impasse,” says Olivier Michaud.
The boys have gathered at Prémanon (Jura), at the Centre national de ski nordique et de moyenne montagne (CNSNMM) and at the Tuffes stadium, where Les Bleus can take advantage of “snow that corresponds to the snow that [they will] most certainly encounter in Val di Fiemme”.
The girls, meanwhile, are doing their training at Les Saisies (Savoie). While the majority of the women’s team is involved, some of the cross-country skiers are following a different project. “They’re not all here. The selections aren’t over yet and some of them are working on a slightly different project to go after the World Cup in Goms,” explains Olivier Michaud.
Read also
