Telemark World Cup rolls on in France

The third Telemark World Cup stage was held in Les Contamines Montjoie (FRA) with two sprint races.

Welcome to the irreducible Gauls in many ways! Indeed Ludovic Callamard, (local retired French telemark racer), and his volunteer crew, The Val Montjoie telemark association and Les Contamines, put all their effort to make this Wolrd Cup happen after it was postponed from January due to lack of snow. Telemark skiers never give up and that’s probably the best way to describe this stage as with the case of Bastien Dayer (SUI) who went down and then succeeded again.

There was a 'French Legends' feeling in the air with the presence of former French racers such  as Ludovic Callamard or Erwan Faivre both racing in the World Cup 20 years ago. It's always nice to remember another era when NTN wasn’t the norm and to remenber other irreducible Gauls freeheel legends as Jean-Jacques Terne (nicknamed Asterix) and Nicolas Coulmy.

Ludovic Callamard said, "As a former telemark world cup athlete (from another era, 1998 to 2005) it is always a great pleasure to organise this world cup in the Contamines. the LOC was highly motivated to find a date of resumption, it was a real challenge. It was like having to go back to the drawing board. We had to compromise on some things, and I think we did well when you see the final result. Former athletes came to see the race or as a volunteer, so I lived these races with a good memory of the circuits of my time, with a desire to do a run."

FIS Race Diretor Andrea Jovan said_, "I love to come to Les Contamines where the races are organized by ex racers and that gives this event a very good vibe."_

The races were held on the François Bonlieu stadium. Bonlieu, nicknamed the 'little snow prince', was sacred skiing Olympic champion in Innsbruck (1964). The snow conditions and what achieved Ludovic Callamard’s crew made honor to the snow prince with an impressive know how for shaping the jump and the loom impressed Andrea Jovan (FIS race director) and Adrian Pery (FIS technical delegate).

Andrea Jovan said, _"_Ludovic and his crew did an excelent job on the whole course. Jump and loom were very good, skating part of the course was built with a lot of imagination and safety nets were placed perfectly.

First Sprint race: The 'Dayer’s Gate' and the French home run

Les Contamines is Antoine Bouvier’s fiefdom as a former telemark racer and now at the coach of the French team. All eyes were focused on the Frenchies, winners of the Team Globe for 2022. Since the start of the season they are earning the podiums, especially for men.

With Noe Claye the big winner of the first World Cup Sprint race of the season in Carezza many expected to see another Frenchman on the top step. But in January, Swiss Bastien Dayer dominated (3 wins) and Nicolas Michel (1 win). Dayer was the first man to run in the stadium and from the first gates was in the rhythm for a another win. However, Dayer missed a turn in the nordic skating, losing precious seconds. Dayer claimed to have been disturbed and was allowed for a new start for his first run. By decision from the jury his re-run time was finally not accepted giving the fault to Dayer in the nordic section.

Dayer said, " I had no particular pressure to race in France. Indeed I was one of those who had already raced on this track many times for World Cups a long time ago.The track was prepared in an absolutely magnificent way. I was motivated to give my best and to ski fast. I had lost my feeling at the end in Melchsee Frutt but it came back for Les Contamines. Maybe there was a misunderstanding during the race inspection and the skating was going to be difficult with lots of gates. When I passed the loom I knew I had made a big run. I concentrated hard to not to miss a gate in the skating because it can happen. My attention was caught by one of the cameramen. This fraction of a second I looked at the cameraman was fatal for my turn in the tricky section. What happened happened. My turn radius was too long and I ended up in the net. I finished the race to try to make a «remontada» in the second heat. We do this sport because it's what we love. We are here to experience emotions. Sometimes they take over. I got angry at myself and then because of the feeling that I had been thrown off by something unexpected. I was the first to start. After that everyone knew that there was a cameraman filming the skating part. It's the law of the bib number one! I did my second run in total relaxation and had a lot of fun. All that was left was to make it happen on Friday with two super clean runs. And I did it. We had two magnificent days of racing. I hope that everybody will soon forget about my bloodshed. I would like to thank all the people who worked hard for this great race. I also apologize to anyone who was upset by my reaction."

Then came the French. One after the other they crossed the finish line after two runs and did a breathtaking double with Elie Nabot (1st) and Alexis Page (2nd). Nicolas Michel (SUI) ended third, Trym Nygaard Loeken (NOR) fourth, Théo Sillon (FRA) fifth and Noé Claye (FRA) sixth. Dayer ended seventh.

A stroke of luck or not with the « Dayer’s Gate » case, Nabot was well and truly the little snow prince of the stadium this day and he deserved this win.

Dayer said about Nabot, "I particularly want to congratulate Elie. He is really the strongest this season behind me. He is super regular. We have to put pressure on ourselves to be faster than him. He's the most fluid of the riders. He skied beautifully in Les Contamines. I'm glad he won in France. I hope this first win of the season won't be his last."

For the women there was no suspense for the two first places with the Swiss ladies Amélie Wenger-Reymond (1st) and Martina Wyss (2nd) continuing their momentum. For third place there was also a snow little princess . Laly Chaucheprat (FRA) gave his best skiing and stars were aligned for a podium well deserved. Goril Strom Eriksen (NOR) ended fourth, Jasmin Taylor (GBR) fifth and Argeline Tan-Bouquet (FRA) sixth.

Second Sprint race: After the snow Prince came the King

For women, Martina Wyss (1st) and Amélie Wenger-Reymond (2nd) switched the roles for the podiums. With three wins and a second place for Wenger-Reymond and one win and three second place for Wyss for the four first sprint races of the season we can expect a nice challenge for the next month for the Sprint Globe win. Jasmin Taylor (GBR, 3st) is also back in the game with his first World Cup podium this season. Argeline Tan-Bouquet ended fourth, Laly Chaucheprat fifth and Goril Strom Eriksen sixth.

For the men after the Dayer loss, he came back trong the next day. Michel looks to have subscribed to the second place most of the time. Nabot ended third, Loeken fourth, Sillon fifth and Romain Beney (SUI, 6th) did his entry into the top six for the first time of the season.

Even if both the women and men top 6 looks to be quite the same races after races, performances also happened after this top 6. Raphaël Mahlknecht (ITA, 9th) signed his first top 10 for the Sprint races this season. Berit Junger (GER) finished 11th and 12th for the two Sprints in Les Contamines and we can expect to see her in the top 10 within the next two months.

This World Cup stage also welcomed on the circuit two new women rookies from USA: Alys Riverieulx and Elizabeth Pouezevara.

All the athletes and the FIS Telemark committee would like to thank the organizers and volunteers involved in the success of this World Cup stage.

Next round will be in Aal, Norway (16-18/02/23).

Frederic Bruaset Bræin (Norges Skiforbund and Norwegian team consultant) said: "We know that Ål is well organized and ready to host the 2023 WC. The snow conditions are good, so far it has been a very stable winter in Norway. Ål IL is an experienced organizer who in 2022 organized its first WC in telemark. They will learn from the WC races so that they one day can  organize and host the World Champs. At Ål, we have several young, promising telemark skiers. WC on Ål is important for the development of the sport in Norway. We look forward to several good battles with the other nations on february 16th-18th! "