Vincent Vittoz and Patrick Favre have chosen to end the adventure here. The coaches of the French men’s biathlon team announced Friday their departure at the end of the season, on the sidelines of the last stage of the World Cup in Oslo (Norway). Arrived after the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, they were to continue with a new Olympiad after the Beijing Games in 2022. But the French results this season have been disappointing.
Vincent Vittoz explained himself to French journalists in Oslo. “Today, it is clear that we are no longer in tune with our athletes. Athletes made some comments. Today, we feel that they are not able to hear some of our speeches. We were ready to continue, clearly. But today, there is a break in this discourse”
The Frenchman, cross-country skiing world champion in 2005, couldn’t do it anymore. This season, the Blues have only positioned themselves on an individual podium in the World Cup five times. It happened once for Quentin Fillon Maillet, three for Émilien Jacquelin and once for Éric Perrot. They did not win any individual podium at the Worlds in Oberhof (Germany) in February. The gold medal won in the relay during this event was not enough to save the season.
“You don’t have to be stubborn”
“When you feel a breaking point, you must not be stubborn. The French team must continue differently, today we would have been a brake for the future, ”added Vincent Vittoz.
Patrick Favre completed his remarks: “We had a lot of ideas but they don’t stick, training is based a lot on confidence, today we feel that this confidence is lacking. Forcing things is not a good thing. »
The two French coaches leave their functions all the same with a nice track record. Martin Fourcade had obtained the world title on the individual in 2020, Émilien Jacquelin those of the pursuit in 2020 and 2021, Quentin Fillon Maillet the big crystal globe last year. In addition to the world title won on the relay this season, there is also the one gleaned in 2020.