In Oslo, the 26 -year -old Savoyard biathlete wins the big crystal globe for the first time in her career and succeeds Sandrine Bailly, the last Frenchwoman to have finished the season at the top of the general classification of the World Cup, in 2005.
by Laura Pottier
Cyril Burdet, the coach of the French women’s team from Biathlon, had warned: “The challenge of the weekend is to stay on the same line of driving despite all the pressure around . “And what was only a matter of time, as his advance on his opponents continued to increase race after race, is now done: at 26 years old, Julia Simon will win her first crystal globe well Term of the season that ends this Sunday in Oslo. By finishing 5 e of the pursuit of Oslo-Holmenkollen and by ahead of her direct opponents, Saturday March 18, the Frenchwoman is guaranteed to finish winning the general classification of the World Cup, even before the last race of the year, Sunday.
“I find it hard to realize,” said Julia Simon after his race on the team. There were ups, stockings, I did not feel capable of this, but I learned to listen to myself and listen to my body. “The Sprint of the day was won by the German Denis Hermann- Wick, the French chloé knight ranking 4th gr^ace to a 10/10 in shooting.
If 2022 had been the year of his compatriot Quentin Fillon Maillet, who had adorned himself with crystal after winning five medals at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, 2023 will be that of Julia Simon. From the third race of the calendar, the Frenchman set the tone by winning on the pursuit of Kontiolahti (Finland), with a 20/20 in the shooting. Then on December 8, only a week after the start of the season, she seized the leading yellow bib thanks to her third place in the Sprint of Hochfilzen (Austria). “It falls a little on it, it was not my main objective,” she conceded a few days later on RMC Sport , taking this situation as a simple” experience “for the future years. The jersey has since left his shoulders.
“I am very happy for her and that the big globe returns home, rejoices Sandrine Bailly, last Frenchwoman to have won her, in 2005. What impressed me the most is her regularity “On the twenty -one individual World Cup races of the season, Julia Simon has only finished three times out of the top 10. Imperial on skis and decisive behind the rifle, the Savoyard is also Mounted ten times on the podium, for three victories (two in pursuit and one in Mass Start). In addition to the big crystal globe, which rewards his victory in the general classification, Simon also got his hands on the small globe of the pursuit and occupies the head of the mass start classification, with a single race to come. “Throughout the year, the key word was to do full shopping each time, explains Cyril Burdet. This is how we get this final result.”
93 % successful shooting success 2>
A consecration which is also – and above all – the fruit of its progress in lying shooting: with 93 % of whitewashed targets this winter, the French displays a higher success rate of 9 points and 21 points compared to 2022 and 2021 .