Emilien and Fabien Claude broke with the French team’s summer routine and travelled to the Summer Biathlon World Championships for the first time, accompanying their brother Florent, who represented Belgium. Although the medal collection in Otepää was less lavish than expected, they enjoyed each other’s company and tested their form 100 days before the start of the 2024/2025 BMW IBU World Cup season in Kontiolahti, Finland.
BW: As unusual as it may sound, these are the first Summer Biathlon World Championships in which all three of you are competing. How does that feel?
FLORENT: It’s the first fight of the season – obviously not the most important – but we get to see who comes out on top. It’s also really nice to be together.
BW: Fabien and Emilien are the only French athletes here. Did you lure them or even initiate the meeting of the Claude brothers in Otepää?
FLORENT: I regularly attend the Summer World Championships, so I would say that helped them make their decision. Even though the field is not star-studded, it is still a big event. I think they wanted to see it for themselves. Plus, they are here without a team and can train and compete in a new situation. Plus, we have more space to spend time together. We enjoy each other’s company.
EMILIA: Florent spoke nicely about the Summer World Championships and we decided to come to Otepää. It’s a new experience. Besides, there is no better way to train than competing. We did a lot of slow and long training sessions in the woods before coming here. It’s an important part of the preparation, but it’s far from the intensity of the competition.
We were wiped out in the super sprint – that was brutal for the Claude family. That evening I saw biathlonworld.com announcing that there were 100 days left until the start of the 2024/2025 season in Kontiolahti. That reminded us how fast winter was approaching! And that we have to do better.
FABIENNE: I wanted to get a taste of the competition atmosphere and break the summer training routine. It’s nice to have a chance to compete for medals at the Summer Biathlon World Championships in the stadium that will host the big event in 2027 – the BMW IBU World Championships. Although there are no athletes from “big” nations, I am surprised by the competition here. Skiing is fast and shooting accuracy is high. Our trip was well organized, but there was one small mistake – we “forgot” to take a French team coach with us! The coaching teams from Belgium and Estonia helped us very generously.
BW: There is obviously a difference between rollerskis and skis. Which of the Claude brothers is the strongest on rollerskis?
FLORENT: It depends on the discipline: Emilien is the strongest in the super sprint and Fabien has the greatest endurance. I can keep up with them – right up to the final sprint.
BW: How did you recover from last season? It was long and involved a lot of traveling, including the season finales in Soldier Hollow and Canmore.
FLORENT: The 2023/2024 season was the best of my career. I left Canmore very tired but happy with myself. Funnily enough, I returned to the USA and traveled the west coast with my girlfriend for three weeks.
FABIENNE: I spent some lovely hours at home – and in Spain – this spring.
BW: Emilien, you also trained with your girlfriend (Anna Gandler).
Yes, yes, very precisely. You know, it is usually difficult to see each other when you are both athletes on different teams. When Austria has a training camp, France does not. And vice versa. When Anna was in Passo Lavaze with the Austrian team, I accompanied her and stayed for ten days. Sometimes she comes to Premanon to train with me. She will take part in the Martin Fourcade Festival and we will see each other again. After that I will go to Hochfilzen.
BW: How has the training been so far?
FABIENNE: It was indeed very effective. And, most importantly, there were no injuries. Otepää is an exceptional week with less training volume, but perhaps the most important in the summer. It is real biathlon.
EMILIA: I spent the summer in the B team with Antonin Guiggonat and many younger athletes. There were many changes in the training plan and it was a welcome challenge to implement them. The mood in the training group is very positive.
BW: What can you take away from a competition like the Summer Biathlon World Championships and apply in the winter?
FABIENNE: To test your competitive mentality. In the summer you do a lot of high-intensity training, but you can’t say exactly where you stand in the competition.
EMILIA: It’s about testing your shooting skills. Shooting has the same dynamics on roller skis or skis: the emotions are similarly complex. Every athlete wakes up on competition day with a certain feeling in their stomach. And hears that little voice whispering at the shooting range.
FLORENT: It’s a valuable test of the quality of work you’ve done in the weeks since the end of last season. For me, it’s a reasonable mid-season goal, and if you’re underperforming, you still have time to work on your weak points before winter arrives.
Photo: IBU – Christian Manzoni
