2023-11-25 15:26:51
Lou Jeanmonnot finished the victorious race for the Blues, on November 25, 2023 in Östersund (Sweden), during the mixed relay of the Biathlon World Cup. ANDERS WIKLUND / AP
The French biathlon team could hardly dream of a better start to the season. Saturday November 25, in Östersund (Sweden), the Blues won the first mixed relay of the season by dominating Johannes Boe’s Norway (2nd, 16 seconds behind) and Italy (3rd, 40 seconds behind). The Tricolores first resisted the best nations thanks to Quentin Fillon Maillet and Emilien Jacquelin, before Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Lou Jeanmonnot completed the national success by not missing any of their balls – each runner passed twice on the stand of shooting, for a total of ten targets to be cleared.
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“I think it’s one of the most accomplished races of my career. It was a race where I felt in full possession of my meansexplained Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, upon arrival at the microphone of La Chaîne L’Equipe. There was excitement before the race but I felt calmer than usual. The idea was to have fun shooting, as well as training. This is just the beginning. »
Earlier in the day, the French women had already started their winter harvest during the single mixed relay, thanks among others to Julia Simon. Winner of the general classification of the World Cup in 2022-2023, she carried the French team, which finished third during the first biathlon race of the winter, in Östersund (Sweden). Julia Simon was lined up alongside Fabien Claude.
In this ultra-fast format, during which the two members of each team complete two relays each, for eight shooting sessions in total, Julia Simon had to deal with a less efficient partner, who missed the target nine times and had to spend two times on the penalty ring. The failures of the Vosges were, however, partly erased by the last passage on the slope of Julia Simon, imperial on the skis and who snatched the podium at the cost of a good comeback.
It was insufficient, however, to catch up with the Swedes Hanna Oeberg and Sebastian Samuelsson, winners in front of their home crowd (42 seconds ahead of the Blues). Norway of Juni Arnekleiv and Sturla Laegreid took second place, 29 seconds ahead of the French team.
Negotiating fluorine-free shopping
With this race, Julia Simon returns to the center of the news thanks to her sporting performances, and not for the internal affair opposing her to her compatriot Justine Braisaz-Bouchet. The second accuses the first of bank card fraud, and has filed a complaint against her. Julia Simon is suspected of having used, in 2022, her teammate’s payment methods for online purchases amounting to close to 2,300 euros.
The criminal investigation has not yet delivered any conclusions and the owner of the large crystal globe disputes these allegations and has filed a complaint for identity theft. Faced with this heavy climate within the team, Julia Simon, double world champion, decided to carry out part of her preparation on her own, away from her usual partners.
For the resumption of the season, the French management therefore chose to limit the risks of controversy by aligning Julia Simon in the single mixed relay and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet in the mixed relay. For the latter, Olympic champion in Beijing in 2022 and originally from Les Saisies (Savoie) – like Julia Simon – it is a return to competition after giving birth to a little girl in February 2023. Her return has worked perfectly, the two champions each carrying their team on Saturday.
Julia Simon and Fabien Claude, on the podium of the single mixed relay in Östersund, Sweden, November 25, 2023. ANDERS WIKLUND / AP
For these first events of the 2023-2024 World Cup, biathletes must also deal with new regulations prohibiting the use of fluorine to wax skis. This product, widely used in the past to improve the glide of skis, is no longer authorized for environmental and health reasons. This year, the technicians in charge of waxing are therefore starting from a blank page. Given the excellent performance of Julia Simon, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Lou Jeanmonnot for their first race of the year, the French staff seems to have quickly found new benchmarks.
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