Even before the start of the season, the French had “Checked” deadline. There was no question of missing the fourth stage of the Biathlon World Cup in Grand-Bornand, Haute-Savoie, which marked the return of the circuit to France after two years of absence. AT ” the House “, in front of a large crowd, the Blues were keen to succeed in this last round before a fortnight’s break.
The mass start of Sunday, December 19 with the victory of Emilien Jacquelin and the podiums of Quentin Fillon Maillet (QFM) and Julia Simon – second – came to crown these four days of competition in the most beautiful way. With six “boxes”, including two wins, in six races, the Blues did not miss their meeting.
Frustrated with his performance the day before on the pursuit, Emilien Jacquelin took the lead from the second loop on Sunday. A mistake on the first standing shot allowed his competitors to regain some ground. But the French, always fast on the skis, released a faultless for his last passage on the shooting range (19/20), executed with the speed he knows how to demonstrate.
“Yesterday I took the race the wrong way”, entrusted the Villardien at the microphone of Eurosport on arrival. While in the fight with the Swede Sebastian Samuelsson to take the lead in the general classification, Emilien Jacquelin had seen his dreams of wearing the leader’s yellow bib fly away in favor of his compatriot QFM. “Yesterday was a very good lesson: when you are distracted by the goal and not focused on the will to do things the right way”, summarizes the Isérois, who recovers the Grail and becomes the third French to find himself at the top of the general this season.
“A race that will remain engraved in my memory”
Sunday, Quentin Fillon Maillet, he suffered from his two rounds of penalties (18/20) conceded during the shots lying down, but he was able to count on his pride as a champion to fight in the last round and go grab second place in the day.
His last stand of the day before, when he crossed the finish line of the pursuit with the tricolor flag in hand will remain one of the striking images of this 2022 edition. Already imperial a week earlier in the same exercise in Hochfilzen, Austria, the Jurassian completed the race with a clear round on the shooting range.
“I experienced a lot of emotions in biathlon but today it’s a race that will remain engraved in my memory until the end of my life”, he had declared after this race.
“This silence before the last shot, the energy of the public, the exit of the last shot, crossing the line with the flag and learning that I’m going to have the yellow bib, it’s exceptional. I had tears in my eyes during the podium. “
“You have to count on me, I’m back”
On the women’s side, if the oldest member of the France team, Anaïs Bescond, 34, opened the medal counter in the sprint with a second place behind the Norwegian Marte Olsbu Roeiseland, it is the performance of Julia Simon who marked the spirits.
In the Aravis massif, the biathlete from Les Saisies has proven that the page of her complicated start to the season was indeed turned. First with her fantastic comeback on the pursuit on Saturday, which she started with 47 seconds behind her head after finishing thirteenth in the sprint. Second behind Elvira Oeberg, she then launched:
“It’s a revenge and it closes the valve of some who had already buried me. I have proven that you have to rely on me and that I am back. “
Her “Revenge” taken, therefore only had to confirm. Something done the next day with a new second place, again behind the Swede. Erased especially the disappointments of Hochfilzen where his feverish shooting had made him miss his participation in the pursuit: at home, Julia Simon regained confidence behind the rifle with a 19/20 during the pursuit and an 18/20, Sunday , plus the best shooting time.
With four biathletes on individual podiums since the start of the season – Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, Anaïs Bescond and Julia Simon – the French women’s team bears witness to its consistency and solidity. Especially since the Blue’s performances have been added to two relay podiums since the start of the season – victory at Ostersünd and a third place at Hochfilzen in Austria.
As the biathletes have just concluded their fourth week of uninterrupted competition, fatigue begins to weigh on the bodies. The two-week cutoff for the holiday season will be essential to recharge the batteries before the resumption on January 6 in Oberhof, Germany, and the home stretch before the Beijing Olympics.