After the harvest of the first days of the Winter Olympics for the Blues, biathlon is making a comeback on Friday February 11, in Beijing. Haloed by her two medals since the start of the Games, Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet will try to continue her momentum. The women’s super-G, with Federica Brignone, Ester Ledecka and the Frenchwoman Tessa Worley, will be the other big piece of the day. Find the complete program of the tricolors engaged in Beijing on Friday February 11. Times are given in French time.
Biathletes always want more
The blue biathletes intend to surf on their beautiful dynamic, after two days without a test. This Friday, they will have the opportunity to fill the medal table a little more, during the 7.5 km sprint (10 hours). For the young mother Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet, in bronze with the mixed relay and in silver in the individual, the dream of getting on the podium in each race is still intact.
“My Games are successful. I am a perfectionist and I do not want to stop there, but you never know how the form evolves, ”she confided on Tuesday.
Worley as an outsider, Ledecka for the exploit
Passed by her giant, Tessa Worley had four days to get back on her feet for the super-G, which will take place this Friday (4 a.m.). So far, the Frenchwoman with an immense track record has always been cursed at the Olympics. On a discipline which is not the one where she shone the most during her career, she will try to repair the anomaly. In tears after riding in slalom on Wednesday, American superstar Mikaela Shiffrin will also try to resume her march forward to collect her first medal of these Games.
The favorite, however, should be the Italian Federica Brignone, world champion in the specialty, who has already won silver from the giant. But we will have to keep an eye on the defending champion, Ester Ledecka. The Czech has already won a title in these Games, in the parallel slalom… in snowboarding. Versatile, she will try to achieve the double, as in Pyeongchang four years ago.
Jouve on the 15 km attack
Very disappointed after his elimination in the semi-final of the sprint on Tuesday February 8, when he was aiming for a medal, Richard Jouve is already putting his skis back on. The cross-country skier is one of three French people selected for the 15 km classic (8 hours), alongside Maurice Manificat and Hugo Lapalus. The competition should once again be there, with a Russian contingent that has been very fit since the start of the Games and the return to form of the captain of the discipline, the Norwegian Johannes Klaebo.
Short-track, finally the right one?
Respectively embarrassed and caught in a fall, Quentin Fercoq and Sébastien Lepape had not managed to pass a single lap in the 1,500m. Revanchists, the two French will take part in the series of 500 m (12:18).
Shaun White Facing History
Legend of American snowboarding, Shaun White will try to win his fourth Olympic gold medal overnight, in the half pipe. Hampered by injuries and no longer quite sovereign, the “Flying Tomato”, who will retire at the end of the competition, still has some under the board. The Japanese Ayumu Hirano, who made a strong impression in qualifying, should be his main rival in the final (2:30).
The complete French program
Biathlon: 7.5 km women’s sprint with Anaïs Bescond, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet and Julia Simon (at 10 a.m.).
Short-track: Series of the 500m men with Sébastien Lepape and Quentin Fercoq (from 12:18 p.m.).
Alpine skiing: women’s super-G with Tessa Worley, Laura Gauche, Romane Miradoli and Tiffany Gauthier (at 4 o’clock).
Cross-country skiing: 15 km classic men with Richard Jouve, Maurice Manificat and Hugo Lapalus (from 8 hours).