The French women’s national biathlon team has had a turbulent few weeks, sparked by the fraud scandal involving overall World Cup winner Julia Simon. But according to coach Cyril Burdet, there is no longer any trace of this within the team.
Cyril Burdet is very satisfied with the performances of his biathletes in the preparation so far.
The French, who are still training without their superstar Julia Simon, have “three intense weeks” behind them, as the national coach explained to “Nordic Magazine”: “What interested us was working in situations of extreme fatigue.”
Especially in the physical area, his protégés would have made a big leap forward. “It’s going as planned. There are always small signs of fatigue and small physical problems to overcome, but that’s normal because in top-level sport we play with the limits. Overall, the group is in good spirits and making progress,” said Burdet.
Praise for biathlete Chevalier
The development should be all the more remarkable if you include the fuss about biathlon superstar Julia Simon in the analysis. The 26-year-old is accused by her teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and a member of the French team of stealing their credit cards in the summer of 2022 and using them to make online purchases for around 1,600 euros. Since then, the French criminal authorities have been investigating, Simon only trains individually.
This summer was made even more difficult by the fact that Braisaz-Bouchet was missing another top athlete in team training for a long time. The 27-year-old had suspended the past biathlon season due to her pregnancy. Now the mass start Olympic champion from 2022 is attacking again.
According to Burdet, despite the turbulent summer, France’s women’s team has a “very dense collective” that is playing at a similar level this year. One biathlete who has taken a step forward is Chloé Chevalier. “She is much more involved in the preparation and takes her responsibility much more seriously,” praised Cyril Burdet.