Cross-country skiing: Jules Chappaz and Richard Jouve miss out on a medal in Norway
This classic sprint team at the World Cross-Country Skiing Championships in Trondheim (Norway) had been on the minds of Jules Chappaz and Richard Jouve for many months. The two Frenchmen arrived in fine form for the Scandinavian fortnight, and made no secret of their medal ambitions.
However, on Wednesday afternoon, not everything went according to plan for the two Frenchmen. Although they were on the pace at the start of the day in the qualifiers, they lost ground towards the end of the race in a group fighting for silver and bronze medals.
It was a real disappointment for the Haut-Savoyard and the Haut-Alpin who had meticulously prepared for this event. “We’d been planning this day for a long time. Cross-country skiing is a combination of parameters and today, not everything lined up,” Jules Chappaz told Nordic Magazine. It’s really disappointing because I think we really had the physical qualities to go out and play up front today. [Erik] Valnes was within our grasp and we could have given the Norwegians a real fright, which is why I’m really disappointed.
In conditions that were once again difficult, but which the two men had mastered well, there was even more frustration in the finish area, where the two team-mates finished in fifth place.
“When you’re not in the game, it’s obviously frustrating because you know you weren’t up to it. But when you know you really could have done it, it’s all the more galling,” admits Richard Jouve. The Norwegians had an easy start up front and we could have held on to them to at least secure second place. It’s hard to miss out. We just have to put this disappointment behind us and move on .
“It’s a disappointment that will leave its mark on me Jules Chappaz at Nordic Magazine
“It’s a big disappointment. We worked really hard to get here. We’re going to have to pick ourselves up. In any case, the season’s not over. There are still some great things to come, but this is a big blow,” concedes his young compatriot, who had already finished fourth in the sprint skate a few days earlier. I think it’s a disappointment that will leave its mark on me. It’s hard to accept when you work like that and you know you’re going to arrive in good shape.
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