At the beginning of last week, Gaetan Paturel took his first steps in the A squad of French biathletes in Premanon. After the 22-year-old was officially accepted into the group in the spring, he recently took part in a four-day training camp focused entirely on shooting. His subsequent impressions were positive.
“Overall, it went very well. I was warmly welcomed, and since the B squad was also there, I was able to quickly reconnect with my ex-colleagues – the athletes with whom I will spend a lot of time this summer,” said Gaetan Paturel to the “Nordic Magazine”.
Although he was looking forward to his promotion to the A squad with “a certain amount of tension”, the integration during the training camp was completely problem-free, reported the young ski hunter.
Biathlon greats such as Eric Perrot, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Emilien Claude and Oscar Lombardot also took part in the course. Paturel takes the opportunity to get to know his trainers Simon Fourcade and Siegfried Mazet better.
“I got on very well with everyone and we were able to discuss the further planning of the season with the coaches in detail,” revealed the 22-year-old.
Mazet’s expertise as a shooting trainer helps the biathlon ace
Paturel wants to benefit above all from Mazet’s experience. “I was really looking forward to starting work with him,” he emphasized: “During this course, I found that he could help us in many areas – be it in terms of precision or shooting speed.”
Paturel wants to demonstrate his progress at the training camp in Ceillac soon. From June 11th to 19th the French Alps will be working hard for the new season.
“Before that I will work at home, afterwards I would like to maintain the momentum of the work done in Premanon, including resuming aerobic shooting training,” decided the ski hunter.
