Ski jumping: Joséphine Pagnier returns to Lillehammer
At the very beginning of December 2023, Joséphine Pagnier revealed herself to everyone in Lillehammer (Norway) for the opening of the World Cup. Second on the small hill, she then triumphed the very next day on the large hill, taking her first World Cup victory.
Taking the yellow overall leader’s bib at the same time, La Chaunière has fond memories of the Norwegian city that became an Olympic venue in 1994.
A year later, she has returned to the region in recent days to open the 2024/2025 season, which kicks off this Friday with a mixed competition. With golden thoughts in her head?
“Honestly, I don’t tell myself that I have to perform well in such and such a place, she joked to Nordic Magazine before making the trip to Scandinavia. I prefer certain jumps to others, but I realise that I can win everywhere and in all conditions! I’ve just got to keep my cool, learn to drive and enjoy myself. The results will come thanks to that and I know that hard work will pay off.”
Mental preparation to avoid being overwhelmed
“Having said that, it’s bound to be a bit of a thrill for me to come back to Lillehammer, she continued. I’ll just have to be ready for it and make sure I’m fully aware of it, by working on it with my mental coach.” Her coach Damien Maitre, for his part, confirms that mental work is one of the major pillars of his management.
“It would be easy to think that she’d won there and then go back and do the same thing, he says.That kind of thing could take Joséphine [Pagnier] away from what made it work! We’re ready for that and she’ll know how to handle it, we’ll be there to support her. If she doesn’t, it’ll be another learning curve and that will be good for the future. I know that some girls are in good shape and it’s unrealistic to think that she’ll do the same thing again. On the other hand, our aim will be to put the same ingredients back into the game and adopt an approach that is consistent with what we’ve been working on all year so that we can go out and fight.”
A place in the world’s top 10 to be confirmed
In addition to this launch weekend, Joséphine Pagnier’s aim this winter will be to confirm her place in the world’s top 10, both overall and at the world championships.
“I know it’s very tight, but I don’t know the level of the others and we know there’s a lot of turnover, says Damien Maitre. So we’re going to have to be on the right track. If she does another year in the top 10 overall, it’ll be a second winter where she settles in before the Olympic season, which she can then approach with confidence. It’s important to validate these stages.”
The first clues will come on Sunday, on a Lysgårdsbakken that Joséphine Pagnier masterfully tamed twelve months ago.
- Large portrait: Joséphine Pagnier, a masterful flyer
- Consistency in the points for Valentin Foubert, top 10 finishes for Joséphine Pagnier and progress for the next generation: the French team’s objectives for the 2024/2025 World Cup season.
- Joséphine Pagnier and Valentin Foubert lead France at the Lillehammer World Cup
- “The athletes adapted very quickly to the ice”: a look back at the French team’s training camp in Oberstdorf
- Joséphine Pagnier on her summer success: “I’m going to do everything I can to be the best I can be this winter”.
