Wibault is the men’s coach, and Rege-Gianasso is the women’s one. The coaches and athletes were in the area for Trollhättan Action Week and Alliansloppet. They also took this opportunity to do a training camp. ProXCskiing met the team at the beginning of their training camp and spent a whole day with them, talking about preparation, training methods, and goals for this summer, but also the athletes’ life outside training. 

Let’s start this interview with questions for the coaches Mathias Wibault and Samuel Rege-Gianasso.

How is the preparation going on? And how many training camps have you already done? 

“I have started with a small cohesion camp in Aix-les-Bains (France) because I have some junior and some senior (athletes). New women came in this year (we also have recruited a biathlete), so I wanted to start with this type of camp. Then we went to Prémanon, in the Jura Mountains (national training center for cross-country skiing), for all the other preparation camps. We did some base work there. To keep the motivation high, we decided to put this training camp in Trollhättan and the Alliansloppet goal at the end of the summer,” says Samuel and continues:

“We were in Trollhättan to transform and validate the preparation that has been done. I am also the coach for the junior, and for them, the goal was the Training Camp in Norway with all the national athletes. They also have raced the same weekend as Alliansloppet in France for the Vincent Vittoz Challenge. Some women competed in the Martin Fourcade Nordic Festival as well. Afterward, the goal is to transfer all this work to the skis. That’s why we will go to Oberhof in September. On top of that, we will also start the period of intensity training sessions, that will last until the beginning of the season.”

Both men and women were in the training camps?

“Until now, we were always out of sync, but it was a good thing in the end. Indeed, the athletes were renting an apartment around Prémanon for the training camps, so men and women were able to switch apartments. For the meals, we were working with the national center. Finances were problematic this spring for us, the federation, the athletes, and their families. Finally, all the athletes could find accommodation for a good price, so that’s great. But we were not in sync with the men to answer the original question. However, now we will be together for the end of the preparation. Junior team will also join us in Oberhof,” says Rege-Gianasso. 

“We also had the idea to harmonize our programs with Junior Team and Women to make it easier regarding the logistic. It’s often not a problem if we are not in sync at the beginning of the preparation, but as soon as we have more stuff to move (skis, wax, etc.), it’s easier if we are all together. And it’s also interesting as soon as we do intensity training, internal test races, skis tests, to be all together. Then the athletes have the opportunity to get good marks,” says Mathias Wibault.

“About the base work, I have decided to put a lot of rollerski during the training camps. I have chosen not to run or bike a lot because I prefer them to do this work when they are at home. My goal is to introduce this dimension of pleasure to rollerski. Indeed, when I was an athlete, we were doing rollerski because we had to. It was just a way to train, but we didn’t enjoy that so much, and there was a time in the preparation when we were really fed up. So, I try to make them understand that this is also their sport. I want them to enjoy training on rollerskis,” says Samuel and continues:

“In addition, we don’t know how it will be in the future with the shorter ski seasons. We can see more rollerski races, particularly for long-distance, so maybe we will see a huge development in the future,” says Samuel.  

As coaches, what are your favorite training sessions for the athletes? 

“Without hesitating: relatively long threshold training with a sprint finish. I can see the different athletes’ profiles during the threshold even more if I use the lactate test device. I can see how the athletes are able to go to this intensity and how they can keep up the speed. Then I like to make them go all out for a finish. I think it can emulate the race conditions,” says Mathias.

“I would say that I have two favorite training sessions. We don’t often do the first one because it’s a bit special: the rollerski agility session. I set up many areas with slaloms, parts without poles, coordination exercises, and speed games. It’s the kind of session you do in a stadium, with cones everywhere. I’m a fan of agility, and that’s why I particularly like this session. But, indeed, we don’t use it too much on the French National teams because there is a higher-than-average risk of falling. Personally, I am sure that it makes sense to propose this kind of session for many reasons, but, indeed, it is not unanimously approved,” says Samuel and continues:

“Otherwise, I love to work on the sprint finish. As Mathias, I also do a lot of thresholds, so the ladies know how fast they must go. I put them all together at their threshold speed for 2-3 minutes, and then they will arrive all together at the stadium, where they will have to work on their placement and their trajectories to finish in front. It’s the kind of effort you find in sprints.”

What are the goals for this winter? 

“For the men, the main goal of this winter is the U23 Cross-Country Ski World Championships in Whistler, Canada. I think this is the main goal for all athletes competing in the OPA Cup. So, I worked according to the race formats proposed in these championships: Sprint Classic, Mass Start Classic, and Individual Free. Mass Start Classic also means that you must be able to push hard in double poling. This has been a major focus of this summer’s work. We also knew that we had the opportunity to come to Trollhättan to compete, so the Alliansloppet race is exciting to prepare for the winter races. We know our athletes raced against double pole specialists, so it will be hard to be in the front, but it’s a good way to work. The goal is to progress, gain experience and be able to have fun during the race,” says Wibault. 

“Exactly, we had this talk during the spring, and we decided to come to Alliansloppet and to use this race to take a step forward regarding double poling,” punctuates Samuel. 

“Then we will go to the French Rollerski Championships in October, and the races will be an Individual Free and a Sprint Classic, and this is the type of race we are doing the most. Compared to that, double poling long-distance races is something that we barely do in France. As the double poling race is quite rare for us, we had to prepare it beforehand, so the focus of work this summer has been a lot of double poling and all the upper body work. Overall, I have decided to work on the same basics as last year: we did three times 15 days in Prémanon. Then during the fall, we will try to go skiing. Basically, if we go outside Prémanon, the goal is to ski. First, we will go to Oberhof, then hopefully Tignes, and then Davos. After Davos, we are hoping not to leave the snow until the end of the winter,” says Mathias and continues:

“In my current group, I have four athletes I already trained last year, and they are in the same dynamic. They know how I work, and it’s also easier for me to work with them. Then I have three newcomers who have also changed categories, so they have extra time to adapt. We are waiting for more from them regarding training (volume, intensity) than before. So, they have not-so-good training periods, but this is normal. Overall, everything has gone well so far, and we haven’t had any injuries or illnesses. And then, with the races and the first contests coming up, it’s going to energize the group, so it’s cool. And then, as Sam said, the goal is to continue this way with the other races: French Champs, internal races. Then we enter more into an intensive phase. Regarding this summer, Alliansloppet was a big goal. For most of us, it’s the first time we will ski that long in a competition. Then we (the women) competed at Martin Fourcade Nordic Festival, an opportunity to learn from the world’s best. After that, we will all compete at the French Rollerski Championships in early October.”

Let’s now continue this interview with some questions for the athletes. First, after asking the coaches about their favorite training sessions, we wanted to know the athletes’ favorite ones. 

“I think my favorite training session is the speed session in classic technique,” says Luc Primet.

“I would say mine is the intensity running session,” says Rémi Bourdin.

And for Julie Pierrel, Maëlle Veyre and Mathis Desloges: “Our is probably the long training session. It could be either in rollerski or running.” 

What are your goals for this winter? 

“For this winter, the main goal for all of us is the Junior World Ski Championships in Whistler (Canada). I will also try to be part of the French selection for a World Cup, says the cross-country skier Rémi Bourdin. 

Do you also plan to compete in long-distance races? 

“We don’t really have goals in terms of long-distance races. I will try to go for one or two, but only if I can match my schedule,” says Luc Primet.

What are you doing when you are not skiing? 

“We love playing Uno during the training camp. Otherwise, we can recommend some series such as Breaking Bad, Peaky Blinders, or Alba. We also are all studying.”

Luc is studying engineering in Chambéry, Maelle is studying to become a physiotherapist, and Julie, Mathis, and Rémi are all doing a STAPS degree (Sciences and Techniques of Physical and Sports Activities). 

If you had to give some advice to the younger athletes who want to ski at a high level, what would it be? 

“Enjoy as much as you can! Try many different sports and then choose which one you like the most and where you are the best. You also have to trust people around you.” This is the conclusion from the whole team!