Cross-country skiing: chocolate for Annette Coupar at the world junior championships in Schilpario
On Wednesday morning, 18-year-old Annette Coupat took part in the 20km mass-start classic at the world junior cross-country skiing championships in Schilpario (Italy). On a very difficult 4km loop with long climbs, the Forézienne didn’t come far from a medal.
“I had bib 26, so I was quite far back [at the start] and I had to find my place. So the first round was a game of repositioning and it was a bit tough because it all started so quickly”, she told Nordic Magazine. Despite all that, the Bessat Sport d’Hiver rider was able to make her mark, breaking away at the front of the race in a group of ten.
“Throughout the race, the aim was to stay with the frontrunners as long as possible, staying behind them and saving as much as possible, explains Annette Coupat. At the end of the fourth lap, a Norwegian made a big attack and I couldn’t hold on. I found myself with a gap on the third-placed rider, but I was never able to catch her on the final lap. There were some girls behind me who were starting to come back, so I gave it everything I had to make sure that didn’t happen and that made for a fine fourth place.”
She is only in her first U20 year
Annette Coupat was one of the top four when she dropped back with the best. The hope of winning a medal was obviously there.
“I told myself that I was going to be able to play, explained the Forez cross-country skier. Afterwards, I have to admit that I was more focused on my skiing and that I wasn’t thinking about the end of the race because I had to stay concentrated on the moment. I would have liked a podium finish, but for me it’s incredible to be in fourth place!”
With no regrets at the finish, the Frenchwoman put in a superb performance, finishing just off the podium, despite only being in her first year of U20. “I’m gaining a lot of experience and that only motivates me for what’s to come and the upcoming events,” she concluded.
- The full programme for the Junior and U23 World Championships in Schilpario from 3 to 9 February
- Schilpario: Iselin Bjervig Drivenes dominates qualifying for the classic sprint at the World Junior Championships, all the French women in the quarter-finals
- Schilpario: Filip Skari qualifies for the classic sprint at the Junior Worlds, Quentin Viguier is the only Frenchman to qualify
- Schilpario: Malin Hoelsveen takes the world title in the junior classic sprint ahead of two other Norwegians, Annette Coupat stops in the semi-finals
- Schilpario: Filip Skari becomes world junior classic sprint champion
- Schilpario U23 World Championships: Julie Pierrel, Justine Gaillard, Léonie Besson and Clémence Didierlaurent pass the classic sprint qualifying round
- Schilpario: Ivan Essonnier and Victor Cullet Calderini qualify for the quarter-finals of the classic sprint at the U23 World Championships
- Schilpario: Maerta Rosenberg becomes U23 world champion in the classic sprint, while France remain stuck in the quarter-finals
- Schilpario: Anton Grahn takes the U23 world title in the classic sprint, Ivan Essonnier sixth in the final
- Schilpario: a look back at the golden day for Sweden’s Maerta Rosenberg and Anton Grahn in the classic sprints at the U23 World Championships
- Schilpario Junior Worlds: Milla Grosberghaugen Andreassen takes gold in the mass start classic, Annette Coupat fourth, Margot Tirloy eighth
- Schilpario: Lars Heggen Junior World Champion in the Mass Start Classic, Romain Vaxelaire eleventh
