Snow-Farmed Slopes: My Battle Through French Biathlon Trials
Join me as I navigate more injuries and fierce competition in the stunning French Alps, striving for triumph and breaking down my thoughts.
The snow has now arrived here in the French Alps. I’m currently in Les Saisies, approximately 1600m above sea level in a beautiful ski resort which played host to the biathlon events during the 1992 Olympic Games. This village is an amazing place to train because they have one of the longest cross-country pistes in France, a shooting range, it’s high up in altitude, and they also do some snow farming which means the base on which we are skiing during this early season is really solid and great for some good-quality training. I’m here preparing for this weekend’s races, the second stage of the French National Cup, but let’s recap how we got here returning to the morning on the French test races back in November.
Three races to hit the jackpot
After each race that was held, I wrote down my thoughts, pretty much as soon as I was back at the apartment. These thoughts are raw, unedited and share in the best way possible what I was living during those races.
Race One, Sprint 10km
Today was the first proper race of the year: a 10km sprint with two shootings, prone and standing. It was also the first of three selection races to qualify for the season’s initial IBU Cups. Naturally, I was a little stressed, but more than anything, I was confident and excited, very excited to get started.
The day began early at 6:15 a.m. I checked my HRV, went for a short run, and had a solid breakfast before taking some time to rest. Ski testing followed, and that went well too. I had some good skis to choose from and decided to race with my RC5 S1s from Rossignol. I’ve used them in cold conditions before, and they felt reliable today as well.
The race itself started strong. I felt amazing, so I went out at a reasonable but fast pace. The first few laps went really well. My first prone shooting: 5 out of 5. I was really happy with that. Out of the range and onto the second lap, the intensity picked up, and I was able to compare myself to the others. Things were going well.
Then came the standing shooting. I missed the last two shots, which was disappointing. It wasn’t what I wanted, especially since the shooting process itself was solid and focused. It just didn’t work out this time, and that’s frustrating. But that’s biathlon, time to focus on the rest of the race.
The last lap is where everything unraveled. My shins became incredibly painful. Shin splints started acting up, which isn’t something I typically deal with in winter but always seems to pop up in early-season races. It’s frustrating because there’s not much I can do about it. From there, I lost a lot of time against my competitors. My technique fell apart, and I was skiing tensely, just not my best skiing, to put it simply.
Overall, I’m happy with some aspects of the race, like my form and the prone shooting, but finishing 10th in the selection race is far from ideal. It’s not a reassuring result, but I know the form is there, and I believe in what I can do. On a positive note, the team had some excellent performances. Gaetan Paturel won the race, which is fantastic for the squad, and Alexis, Mathieu, and Paul also had strong results.
Race Two, Sprint 10km
Today was the second sprint of our three trial races this week, as we aim to qualify for the IBU Cup in two weeks. I was feeling alright last night. I tried to go to bed early and actually slept quite well, so I woke up this morning full of energy.
I decided to skip my usual shake-out run since it was quite early when I got up, and I figured optimizing sleep was more important than heading outside in the cold. That worked out fine. The ski testing and zeroing process was a bit complicated due to some wind, but we managed to get everything sorted in the end.
The tricky part came during the warm-up. Because the women’s race was held before ours, we couldn’t warm up on the piste. Instead, I went to the gym and used the SkiErg machine. It’s not my usual warm-up routine, and honestly, I’m glad I won’t need to do it again tomorrow. It worked well enough, I got warm and made it to the start line on time.
As for the race itself, it went alright. I felt good on the skis and decided to dress a bit warmer this time to avoid the cold feet I had in the earlier races. That decision paid off, I stayed warm and didn’t overheat, though my shin splints were still an issue. They weren’t as painful as yesterday, but they still held me back somewhat.
On the range, I hit 9 out of 10: a clean 5 in prone and missed one in standing. I had a little more energy left for the final lap compared to the last sprint, but it wasn’t enough to make a big difference. I finished 9th. It’s an alright result, not ideal, especially with a 9 out of 10 shooting score. I’d hoped to be much closer to the top of the leaderboard. But it is what it is, and I can only focus on what’s next.
Tomorrow is the final race of these qualifying trials, a mass start. I’m really excited because I love mass starts. My last one went really well, so I’m hoping for a repeat tomorrow. I feel confident. I just need to get my shooting straight, and everything else should fall into place. The race is going to be intense, with everyone going completely bonkers, but I just need to stick to my plan, stay focused, and trust my process. I’ve done it before, and I can do it again.
As for IBU Cup qualification, it’s going to be tricky, but never say never. I’ll focus on tomorrow’s race and take things one step at a time. For now, I’m excited and can’t wait to get going.
Race Three, Mass Start 12,5km
Today was tough, I had to abandon the race. I don’t think I’ve ever had to abandon a race before, and it wasn’t an easy decision. As an athlete, I know how fortunate I am to be in this position, to have the chance to race and do what I love. There are so many people who would have given anything to be on the start line today. That thought kept me pushing through these races, but today, it was just impossible.
My shins, and really the entire lower half of my legs, felt like solid rock. It was unbearable. I couldn’t control myself on the downhills, and skiing became downright dangerous. It wasn’t just painful to experience; it was painful to watch. I’m absolutely gutted because this is not the race I wanted to have when I woke up this morning.
The shooting was going well, and physically I felt good apart from my legs, but I just couldn’t race. It’s a huge disappointment, but I have no regrets about stopping. The pain hit me right from the start, by the top of the first hill, I knew this was going to be a long, brutal fight just to make it through. I managed to push through nearly four laps before stopping with my trainer. It was emotional. It wasn’t easy to admit defeat, but it was the right call.
For now, I’ll be staying in France and will aim for the French National Cup in two weeks. Congratulations to Gaëtan and the others who’ve earned their spots to race internationally. I’m proud of them and happy for their success. As for me, I’ll be back. This experience has only fueled my determination and built a fire inside me to fight back. I’m ready to give everything I can when the time comes.
Hopefully, we can find a solution to this problem quickly so I can move forward.
So there you have it, a deep dive into my feelings after each of my days racing throughout the week. As you can tell by the last message, these are definitely not the races I wanted to accomplish. I was aiming for a podium during each race start and sadly finished only inside the top 10 twice and had to abandon the race on the last day. But when I look back at the races and the effort I put into them, there wasn’t much more I could do on each day. My shooting was decent, and I laid it all out on the piste each time I passed the start gate. I just wasn’t strong enough. As to my unfortunate DNF during the mass start, even though I was gutted after the race, when I look back on the decision to stop, it was the best one to take. I would have finished the race way outside of the position I was aiming for and I would have damaged my shins so much I might not have been able to train for the weeks following the races.
So what went wrong, why was I not good enough? When you look at my last two months of training, there are two big factors that come into play. The first one is the hard-hitting cold and fever that I caught during the middle of October. This put me out for a couple of weeks and meant I wasn’t able to do any high-intensity sessions during that time. This, in conjunction with the Achilles tendon pain that also stopped me from training, basically pushed back a lot of the training we had planned with my trainer, meaning I wasn’t at 100% of my capacities during that race weekend.
Recharging and getting back in shape before more races
Straight back home after the tough racing in Bessans to recover properly and recharge the batteries. This was also perfect because the first snow had just fallen over Avoriaz, and you know me, always trying to be the first one out on the piste. That very morning, I was awake bright and early and headed up to Avoriaz for some powder classic skiing in the snow. It was very cold and windy, but I’m a massive fan of these kinds of easy training sessions, and they are great for switching off and thinking about something else rather than full-on racing all the time. I was also able to get the skimo equipment out for some quick sessions with my friend Jeanne Richard before she flew off to compete on the IBU World Cup circuit.
It was then off to Les Saisies for a first time to make the most of the snow farming circuit they had in place and to get some actual biathlon training in before the first stage of the French national cup. I was joined by three of my teammates for three great days of training in some really good conditions. My shape was slowly building up again, and the excitement to race was very high, and that was good because…
SAMSE National Tour Étape 1
It was straight back up to Bessans for my next set of races. These races were not the most important ones; good results weren’t going to give me the possibility to rejoin the international circuit, but it’s always great to get some race time in and to see how my form and my shins were doing following the test races back in mid-November. Two races on the calendar: a 10km sprint followed by a 12.5km short individual. The main difference compared to the test races is that these races count for the French Cup, so there are a lot more people signed up. Compared to the 25-athlete racing two weeks ago, we’re about 90 on the start list this time around.
Here is what I had to say following the two races:
I’ve just wrapped up my second race weekend of the winter. Yesterday, I think I finished 21st or 22nd, and today I placed in the top 20—19th, I believe. These aren’t amazing results by any stretch. I’d much prefer to be in the top 10, top 5, or even winning, which is ultimately where I need to be. But there were positives to take away from the weekend, along with some clear negatives to work on.
On the bright side, my prone shooting was excellent—14 out of 15 hits across both races, which is a fantastic score. On the other hand, my standing shooting was much weaker. I’m not where I need to be mentally or technically when it comes to standing, and that’s both frustrating and something I need to address.
Physically, I’m not at my best either. My legs are still in a lot of pain, with my shins absolutely killing me. Despite that, I finished the races feeling happy. I enjoyed racing this weekend, and honestly, that was my main goal—to enjoy the process. So, in that sense, I’m really pleased.
This afternoon, I stayed to watch the women’s race, which was a lot of fun. It’s not often I get the chance to see some of my friends race, so that was a great experience.
So yeah, as you can tell, it was another complicated weekend of racing. A little positive when you look at the prone shooting followed by a lot of negative in the standing and the overall ski times. It was one of those weekends where if I had stayed at home and continued training properly for the more important races happening this weekend in Les Saises, the outcome might have been better, but you only think about this after the fact, not before the race weekend.
Snow and lots of it
As I returned home to get straight back into training, a whole load of fresh snow fell over the Chablais. It was amazing and meant I was able to ski pretty much every day. Sadly, though, I live in a ski resort focused solely on alpine skiing, so even though they could easily run a piste basher round the Nordic tracks, they don’t do it and focus only on preparing the alpine sections. This meant I could ski, but on the closed alpine pistes, which are quite unspringly very steep, so I chose the second-best alternative I could find: Skimo. It’s not the best because I’m not working on my cross-country skiing technique, but it’s great for base training and the occasional high-intensity sessions.
Take a look at this session I did on my skimo equipment. 15min threshold and then 15min at race pace. It was really hard because even though I have the physique and the training to do such an effort I’m a long way from having the correct technique to properly push myself to the limit. You can see this by looking at my heart rate, it never reaches my race pace heart rate because I was not able to push hard enough even though when I got to the top I was completely dead.
I’m now in Les Saisies and have been since last Sunday. I’m here to get acclimated to the correct race altitude but also to train on the actual race course which is always a plus. The conditions are amazing, the snow is perfect, cold and fresh pretty much the perfect race conditions. This week of training has gone really well, I haven’t been annoyed by my shins at all and I’ve been able to push myself during a really good interval session that I did on Wednesday morning. 6*1’30 at max pace followed by a prone or a standing shot, a really demanding session made to push you to the limit. Thursday is a full rest day to recover as much as possible before this weekend’s racing.
This last month has been as difficult as the one before it, battling an injury I don’t really have any solution to is not always easy. Having to balance each training session so as not to hurt myself before the next is really annoying and all means we can’t do quite as much volume as we would like to. The shape is here and not being able to push myself to the limit during every race because of a physical problem is really frustrating. My shooting has never been this good this early on in the season and I would love to be able to capitalize on all the hard work I’ve put down through the summer and autumn.
All eyes are on this weekend’s races now. These might be my last races before the Christmas and New Year break depending on how well I perform. It’s another 10km Sprint followed either by a Mass Start or a Pursuit depending on the conditions. You can catch all the action over on my Strava account or my Instagram account where I post regular updates for everyone to follow along more regularly. Please don’t hesitate to send me some feedback on the newsletter and I can’t wait to catch up with you all again sometime either late 2024 or early 2025, and last of all, is it too early to wish you all a Merry Christmas or not ? ;)