Seasons pass, habits change. At the height of Quentin Fillon-Maillet’s fame, just last year, there was real enthusiasm to turn on his TV to watch men’s biathlon. The certainty of victory and better, of a French hegemony that we no longer hoped to find since the retirement of Martin Fourcade had fueled a hype rewarded by a myriad of Olympic medals and a large crystal globe for QFM . Among women, the results were more disparate. For an Olympic gold medal by Justine Braisaz, how many weekends without a podium?
The curves of the craze ended up crossing quickly at the start of winter 2022. It is now in front of the exploits of Julia Simon, current leader of the Biathlon World Cup, and of the women’s relay that we vibrate assiduously, and before the banality of male performances that we sigh. Gentlemen can thank ladies: this season, QFM has only been on the top step of the podium once, on the mixed relay in Pokljuka. On that of Oberhof, the first Worlds event, he almost completely ruined a whole team work by taking the wrong path on the finish line. Symbolic.
Let’s recognize him for having managed to climb up on his own to 2nd place in the pursuit of Pokljuka for the first and only time of the season. Not enough to restore the joy of living to the coach of the men’s team, Vincent Vittoz. “It’s below what he showed us, so we’re obviously a little disappointed. When you are number 1 in 2022, you hope to remain so in 2023.”
Jacquelin has come a long way
What to expect when you are number 5? Certainly not to sink into the abyss of the peloton like Emilien Jacquelin, very quickly overtaken by an unpredictable mind after two promising first stages (two podiums in pursuit, one in sprint). “We are losing him,” worried Vincent Vittoz downright, forced to send his colt to clear his mind after a series of hell (see photo) punctuated by a 64th lunar place in Slovenia. A paying choice despite a still too fluctuating level, embodied by a pursuit – yet his strong point – five faults to Antholz and a mediocre stint on Wednesday, during which he managed to fuck up in two shots 55 seconds ahead on Norway hard obtained by Julia Simon and Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet. Not very reassuring for a man who was particularly ambitious before the start of the championships.
“The ambition is to come back with a medal in the mixed or men’s relay, I’m not hiding it. The other objective is to go for the hat trick on the pursuit, I put my energy for that, and I believe in it, I have already done it twice. The competition has never been so fierce, world biathlon is reaching a new level. Oberhof is a complicated place, with a lot of elevations and a difficult shooting range. But I like challenges, I’m very happy to find some inner motivation for these world championships. »
Not luxury, however, to have a bit of a slab during these Worlds as the mental resources were lacking in the two blue locomotives. Quentin Fillon Maillet admitted to us, at the time of the presentation of the French teams last fall, that he would be very happy to maintain his level of 2022. He thought he had the cash for it. Error. ” I did not have [la même motivation] since the start of the season, perhaps because of my exceptional season, he finally said on Monday. I thought I could leave with the same desire, but that’s not quite it. “With a fairly clear impact on shooting ratios and ski times.
QFM in 2021-1922:
87% accuracy when shooting prone, 91% when shooting standing, +1.1s/km on best ski time
QFM in 2022/23:
86% when shooting prone, 85% when shooting standing (usual strong point), +3.4s/km on the best ski time
For his part, Emilien Jacquelin experienced a regression comparable to that of Fillon-Maillet on skisas well as a decline in standing shooting (-3% accuracy to 75%) but slight progress in prone shooting (+1% to 88%).
The frightening Norwegian supremacy
Figures not quite catastrophic compared to ordinary mortals, but almost ridiculous if compared to the Norwegian machines, for the moment out of reach. Looking at the figures, we understand even better why they fly over the World Cup.
Johannes Boe : +0.0s/km on the best ski time (since he is the fastest)
Sturla Laegreid : 98% success in prone shooting (!!!!)
Vetle Christiansen: alone to compete with Boe on skis (+1.7s/km)
The men’s relay: 100% wins
“Norway is the favourite, comments Vittoz, as a pusher of open doors. But we are able to get on the podium, even if it’s a little less the case than in previous years. The coach of the French biathlon team is counting on the fruits of the work done during the pre-world championships in Tyrol to reverse the trend. The French notably benefited from a 40-mark track and perfect conditions to work on shooting.
“I have the feeling that this fortnight has been beneficial, after a complicated Christmas period when we didn’t feel like winter, we had a hard time finding good training conditions… I find the guys better able to respond. The first race of the week does not go in this direction. It would be almost surprising to see one of the two tricolor leaders scratch a men’s individual medal. In Oberhof, the thrill will be feminine or it won’t be.