Cross-country skiing: Anouchka Neuville stronger than Gaëtane Breniaux
This Sunday morning, in the sunshine of Les Saisies (Savoie), the women’s U18 mass-start classic of the 2025 French cross-country skiing championships featured a great battle between Anouchka Neuville and Gaëtane Breniaux at the front.
The favourites in this race, the two cross-country skiers who took part in the EYOWF Bakuriani 2025 a few weeks ago, took the lead from the very first lap. They created an unassailable gap over their rivals and went into the third and final 2.5km lap alone in the lead.
It was on this final loop that Montblanc’s Anouchka Neuville made the difference in the forest, dropping her rival from Prémanon SC. In the end, the SCN Pays Rochois rider won solo to become French U18 mass-start classic champion.
It was the last race of the season, so I really wanted to get my 100% for the day,” she told Nordic Magazine afterwards. It was cool because 100% means victory! I gave it my all on the last lap and it paid off. It’s really nice to finish on a positive note.
Gaëtane Breniaux, at 17 sec 7, took silver, while Coline Schmitt took bronze, more than a minute behind. Elise Pawlikowski, Camille Delerce, Emilie Godey, Guillemette Baisle, Emmi Paolucci, Lucile Coutaz and Oksana Grand also made the top 10.
Full results
- The full programme for the 2025 French Championships in Les Saisies
- Les Saisies: Joséphine Dode and Jérémy Marchand set the fastest times in the U16 sprint skateboard qualifiers
- Les Saisies: U18 free sprint qualifiers for Gaia Musso and Gaspard Cottaz
- Les Saisies: Margot Tirloy and Loris Chevalier were the fastest U20 sprint skating qualifiers
- Les Saisies: Maëlle Veyre and Jules Chappaz win the free sprint qualifying rounds of the French championships
- Les Saisies: Zoé Bray and Alex Laroche French U16 sprint skateboard champions
- Les Saisies: U18 sprints at the French championships for Marie Demor and Gaspard Cottaz
- Les Saisies: U20 sprint skate gold medals for Margot Tirloy and Quentin Lespine
- Les Saisies: Mélina Berthet French sprint skateboard champion ahead of Liv Coupat and Juliette Ducordeau
- French Championships in Les Saisies: Richard Jouve takes gold in the sprint skateboard event by a whisker ahead of Jules Chappaz
- Les Saisies: Mont-Blanc, with Anouchka Neuville, Margot Tirloy and Mélissa Gal, takes the women’s classic relay title
- Les Saisies: Montblancers Mallory Moreau, Johan Calandry and Clément Parisse become French champions in the classic relay
- Les Saisies: Mattéo Vandel takes on Gaby Thomas in the sprint to become French U16 mass-start classic champion
- Les Saisies: unsurprisingly, Gaspard Cottaz wins the U18 mass-start classic at the French championships
- French Championships in Les Saisies : Louna Remillon takes gold in the U16 mass-start classic ahead of Lison Brouart and Anja Vittoz
