Olympic Games 2026: Rémi Bourdin, Juliette Ducordeau and Léna Quintin share their disappointment at not being shortlisted
Seven quotas for the women, eight for the men: the staff of the French cross-country skiing team had to make some choices to establish their selection for the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games. The men’s team is made up of the four best sprinters(Jules Chappaz, Lucas Chanavat, Richard Jouve, Théo Schely) and the four best distance runners(Hugo Lapalus, Mathis Desloges, Jules Lapierre, Victor Lovera) in the World Cup rankings.
The women’s team includes the four best-placed riders overall(Léonie Perry, Mélissa Gal, Julie Pierrel, Delphine Claudel) and three others selected after the Swiss leg in Goms(Clémence Didierlaurent, Justine Gaillard and Cloé Pagnier).
“Time will tell”, hopes Léna Quintin
Léna Quintin, the first not to be selected, reacted to her absence in an Instagram post published on 26 January: “After a complicated start to the season in Scandinavia, I got back into form in Davos. Unfortunately, a bit of illness and not being selected for the Tour de Ski meant I was out of action for a while, just long enough for other girls to pick up some points and experience. […] In Goms, I didn’t have the right to make a mistake and in the end the result wasn’t good enough.
The skier who took part in the previous Olympics and has three individual World Cup top 10 finishes went on to express her frustration: “I’m aware that I may not be at the level I’ve been at for the last four years, but certain choices and decisions didn’t give me much of a chance. After a month and a half under pressure, it’s with a bitter taste that I have to accept this decision. The days will go by and time will take its course. I don’t yet know what the rest of my season will be made of, I just hope to get back to enjoying myself on the skis at home.
“I just wasn’t up to scratch,” says Juliette Ducordeau.
Her compatriot Juliette Ducordeau also chose the American social network to share her sadness on Tuesday 3 February: “I’ve never trained as hard or as well as I have over the last year. I’ve never paid so much attention to my recovery, my diet and my sleep. I put my studies on hold to devote myself entirely to this project.
And he is lucid : “And yet, Olympic selection eluded me in 2022, and it eludes me again this year. It’s a brutal and bitter reality check. I have no excuses, no explanations: I simply wasn’t up to scratch. I’m going to miss two weeks of competition. But for me, they were the most important two weeks of my life. The ones you dream about as a child. The ones I may never experience.
“The adventure is far from over”, says Rémi Bourdin looking ahead to the future
For his part, Rémi Bourdin has taken a step back in time, having taken part in the French relay at the World Championships in Trondheim (Norway) a year earlier. Also on Instagram, he explained on 24 January: “When I started cross-country skiing, I never thought that one day I would be fighting for Olympic selection… But over the last few years, I’ve felt that this dream could become a reality. So I did everything I could to make it happen. Unfortunately, top-level sport is not an exact science, and sometimes the results don’t live up to our expectations. It’s a difficult period to go through, but I remain motivated for the rest of the season, and especially for the years to come, with the 2030 Olympic Games in France. [The adventure is far from over.
The Doubiste skier was supported in his comments by six of his fellow qualifiers, as well as biathlete Oscar Lombardot and alpine skier Paco Rassat. ” You’ll come back stronger”, Mathis Desloges prophesied. Juliette Ducordeau and Léna Quintin also received public reassurance from their partners. Snowboarder Chloé Trespeuch also commented on Léna Quintin‘s publication, as the flag-bearer for Les Bleus.
Clément Parisse and Margot Tirloy, other disappointments
Other World Cup regulars had to put their ambitions on hold. Clément Parisse failed to make himself indispensable, despite his top 10 finish on Alpe Cermis (Italy) at the end of the Tour de Ski. Only 5th overall French distance runner in the World Cup, he will not win a third Olympic medal (he was bronzed in 2018 and in 2022 in the relay).
A similar situation for Margot Tirloy, the sixth French distance runner on the world circuit. Her best result was 27th place on the final stage of the Tour de Ski, and she didn ‘t force the issue in the team sprint in Goms (Switzerland) at the end of January. Paired with Julie Pierrel, she only finished 13th and only posted the 14th fastest time in the final (out of 15) in each of her relays.
But that’s potentially only a temporary setback, as she is the youngest of those not selected, at 20. Rémi Bourdin (24), Juliette Ducordeau and Léna Quintin (27) can also look forward to the French Alps 2030.
On the other hand, Clément Parisse will have to manage his body as well as possible, as he will be 36 at the next Olympic Games. It’s not an impossible task: Maurice Manificat was 35 in Beijing and Jean-Marc Gaillard 37 in Pyeongchang.
The French cross-country skiing squad for the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games
Ladies
- Léonie Perry – La Bressaude (Massif des Vosges) 🇫🇷
- Delphine Claudel – ARMÉE DE CHAMPIONS / La Bressaude (Massif des Vosges) 🇫🇷
- Mélissa Gal – SCNP Rochois (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Julie Pierrel – Le Grand-Bornand (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Clémence Didierlaurent – Ski club Vagney Rochesson (Massif des Vosges) 🇫🇷
- Justine Gaillard – Ski Amical Méaudrais (Dauphiné) 🇫🇷
- Cloé Pagnier – Risoux Club Chatelblanc / Chaux-Neuve (Massif Jurassien) 🇫🇷
Men
- Lucas Chanavat – ARMÉE DE CHAMPIONS / Le Grand-Bornand (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Jules Chappaz – ARMY OF CHAMPIONS / Club des Sports La Clusaz (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Mathis Desloges – NATIONAL POLICE / Villard de Lans (Dauphiné) 🇫🇷
- Richard Jouve – ARMÉE DE CHAMPIONS / Club des Sports de Méribel (Savoie) 🇫🇷
- Hugo Lapalus – ARMÉE DE CHAMPIONS / Club des Sports La Clusaz (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Jules Lapierre – ARMY OF CHAMPIONS / Chartreuse Nordic Skiing (Dauphiné) 🇫🇷
- Théo Schely – POLICE NATIONALE / Club des Sports La Clusaz (Mont Blanc) 🇫🇷
- Victor Lovera – DOUANE / Nordic skiing Chartreuse (Dauphiné) 🇫🇷
The complete programme for cross-country skiing at the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games
Saturday 7 February
- 1.00 pm: women’s 10 km CT + 10 km FT skiathlon
Sunday 8 February
- 12.30pm: men’s 10 km CT + 10 km FT skiathlon
Tuesday 10 February
- 9.15am: Women’s CT sprint qualifiers
- 9.55am: CT men’s sprint qualifiers
- 11.45am: men’s and women’s CT sprint finals
Thursday 12 February
- 13:00: Women’s individual 10 km FT
Friday 13 February
- 12.00: Men’s individual 10 km FT
Saturday 14th February
- 12.00: Women’s 4×7.5 km CT/FT relay
Sunday 15 February
- 12.00: Men’s 4×7.5 km CT/FT relay
Wednesday 18 February
- 9.45am: FT women’s team sprint qualifiers
- 10.15am: FT men’s team sprint qualifiers
- 11.45am: Women’s FT team sprint final
- 12.15pm: FT men’s team sprint final
Saturday 21 February
- 11.00: 50 km mass-start CT men
Sunday 22 February
- 10.00: 50 km women’s CT mass-start
- Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium: everything you need to know about the Val di Fiemme stadium, which hosts the cross-country skiing events at the Milan/Cortina Olympic Games.
- The full cross-country skiing programme at the Milan/Cortina Olympic Games
- Clément Noël and Chloé Trespeuch elected flag-bearers for the French delegation at the opening ceremony
- The podium in the heat of the moment: the Olympic medals will be presented at the competition site immediately after the events.
- Rule 40: the IOC ban that poisons the relationship between athletes and their sponsors during the Olympic Games
- Pierre Mignerey, FFS National Technical Director, outlines the French team’s ambitions for the 2026 Olympics: “The aim is to come back from the Games with medals”.
- France TV and Eurosport coverage of the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games
