There will be personnel changes in the successful French biathlon team for the coming season. Top coach Simon Fourcade announced that he would continue to be responsible for the men’s team following the signing of Siegfried Mazet. But there are still uncertainties.
Simon Fourcade wants to start the next Olympic cycle as head coach of the French biathlon men. “I want to continue this adventure,” wrote the ex-professional and brother of ski hunter icon Martin Fourcade in a column for “Le Dauphiné”.
However, the 41-year-old added: “There are still some unanswered questions. Even if the main goals have been defined, a lot can still change. What I will do in the spring is still uncertain, but a trend is emerging and it is possible that I will continue with a view to 2030 and the challenge of home games.”
The “unanswered questions” could probably also be related to the arrival of Siegfried Mazet. The Frenchman had worked extremely successfully as a shooting coach for the Norwegians in recent years, and is now moving back to his homeland.
Biathlon coach Fourcade is looking forward to Mazet’s return
However, it is still unclear in which role the 48-year-old will work. Sports director Stéphane Bouthiaux has “various options in mind,” Mazet said recently: “I’m good at adapting, so it won’t be a problem for me to adapt to one group or another, or to a different role.” It is therefore possible that Mazet was not just hired as a shooting trainer.
Meanwhile, Fourcade is looking forward to Mazet’s return, “regardless of which group he chooses.” He further wrote: “I think he will be a great addition and will bring new perspectives and a new approach to shooting that we have perhaps moved away from in recent years – a more holistic, less technical approach. He is a coach who has worked with Norway’s best athletes for several years. He will certainly help us to better understand the management and dynamics of the Norwegian team.”
