Cross-country skiing: Simon Chappaz and Félicie Chappaz live their American dream
Almost three months ago,Haute-Savoie twins Félicie and Simon Chappaz flew to Bozeman in the United States. The 23-year-old cross-country skiers from La Clusaz (Haute-Savoie) decided to leave France to study at Montana State University.
Although Félicie Chappaz confessed in our columns a few days before the big departure that she was feeling “excited and also a little scared”, the duo’s first few weeks in America have been idyllic.
It’s going really well, we’re very happy and very well integrated,” explains La Cluse to Nordic Magazine at the end of October. School is going well, even though it was a bit tough at first. We’re starting to get used to the system and the language.
We’ve had to get into a rhythm because it’s a pretty busy one, with early morning training from 7am to 9.30am, then lessons and finally new training sessions from 4pm to 6pm,” explains his brother Simon Chappaz. You have to make sure you get enough sleep to recover, but once you get into the rhythm, it goes so well!
“We have access to a nutritionist, a sports psychologist, a ski-wheelchair, a physiotherapist, a fitness trainer and a lot of recovery equipment, like a cold bath”.
When it comes to cross-country skiing, they’ve been made very welcome by their university team, nicknamed the Lynx. “The team is so cool! Training is going really well, and we’re even in Canmore, Canada, at the moment, getting back on our cross-country skis. It’s great to be back on skis again,” says Félicie Chappaz.
Simon Chappaz confirms this, pointing out thatthe facilities on the university campus are of a very high standard.
“Everything is geared towards performance, whether it’s academic or sporting. We have access to a nutritionist, a sports psychologist, a ski-wheel mat, a physiotherapist, a physical trainer and a lot of recovery equipment, like a cold bath,” he says. At school, we have to get above a certain percentage of marks, and I’m talking about 80%, if we want to go on training courses and competitions. It’s a lot of extra work, but it’s well organised!
First competition on 2 January 2026
It’s a really great experience, but it’s a rhythm you have to get used to, and I think we’ve both got used to it,” sums up his sister. We’re learning every day from this experience, whether it’s at school, skiing or socialising! We have no regrets and we’re enjoying every day 100%. It’s all positive.
On 2 January, the French twins, dressed in their university’s magnificent white and blue jumpsuits, will don their bibs for the first time on the other side of the Atlantic. This will be at the US Championships in Lake Placid (USA). “ There’s still some time to go, but we’re really excited to be discovering a new way of cross-country skiing,” concludes Félicie Chappaz.
