The French demonstration. As in Östersund (Sweden), at the opening of the Biathlon World Cup, the French team won the women’s relay in Oberhof (Germany) this Saturday, January 10. Less than a month before the start of the Winter Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina, the Blues once again responded to this exercise that they appreciate so much, taking the lead from the start of the race without ever letting go (1h18′21″).
For this penultimate relay before the Olympics, the quartet made up of Lou Jeanmonnot, Océane Michelon, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Julia Simon left nothing to the Norwegians (2nd) and the Germans (3rd), finishing almost a minute ahead of their closest competitors (+ 53″7).
Julia Simon validated the French success
Beyond the performance of the Tricolores, the issue lay above all in the reintegration of Julia Simon into the relay after her suspension and her legal conviction in the case which pitted her against her teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet. In fact, we had to go back to March 2025 to find any trace of the presence of the Savoyard in this collective discipline.
Third in the sprint on Thursday, Simon did not miss his return, perfectly finishing the work started by his teammates. The shooting specialist was impressive, as usual, in her favorite exercise, showing formidable precision and speed despite two missed shots in prone shooting before cutting the line to validate the French success.
Enough to fill up on confidence on the eve of the women’s pursuit, which will close the World Cup weekend in Oberhof this Sunday (2:30 p.m.).
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