Cross-country skiing: convincing first steps for Léonie Perry and France Pignot, fine progress for Julie Pierrel
Every winter, new faces make their appearance in the ranks of the French cross-country ski team on the World Cup circuit. Last season was no exception to this tradition, with the Les Rousses (Jura) stage in particular giving several cross-country skiers a chance to discover the elite of their sport.
But for some, the adventure continued well into the winter , with some fine performances against the best female skiers in the world, including Julie Pierrel, who competed in fifteen events throughout the season.
“Julie has clearly turned a corner this year. She was more consistent and had a pretty solid weekend at the start of the first FESA Cup, which then took her to Davos where she scored her first World Cup top 30,” explains Alexandre Pouyé to Nordic Magazine. It was perfect. I think that’s not easy at these ages. You have to find the right balance between coming to discover and building on this circuit.
“For the majority, the idea is to come and seize the opportunities to make the most of the moment, because it’s still a big objective”.Alexandre Pouyé at Nordic Magazine
“For most of them, the idea is to come and seize the opportunities to make the most of the moment, because it’s still a big goal. But you also need to take stock of everything that still needs to be worked on and see the gap with the world level,” admits the Savoie coach. That way, you can leave with extra motivation and a cool head.
At just 20, Léonie Perry also impressed on her elite debut: “Léonie was only in her first year with the seniors, so it was hardly a surprise. She didn’t shy away from the challenge and she came in with no nerves. As the season went on, her form wasn’t always there, but that’s normal at her age. She’s had a really interesting winter,” says the Les Bleues coach.
I’ll especially remember the individual skate in Toblach where she started ahead of Therese Johaug and we took on the crazy challenge of following her to gain experience and see what happened,” he adds. When I see her on the Norwegian’s skis, I think it’s really great to be able to do it at her age and seize an opportunity like this.
France Pignot was invited to the World Cup at the very end of the winter, where she shone by qualifying several times for the sprints in Tallinn (Estonia) and Lahti (Finland). She was also one of the big surprises of last year.
“France’s start to the season was a little off the radar. We hadn’t seen too much of her and things didn’t go too well for her. But in our system, if there’s a performance in the FESA Cup, there’s always an opportunity to seize it,” confirms Alexandre Pouyé. At the end of the season, she did four very high-level qualifiers in eight days between the FESA Cup and the World Cup. I think it was a bit strange for her at first to find herself there, but it was also a very powerful experience for her.
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