Jules Chappaz, in Full Digestion

Jules Chappaz, the only French medalist in the history of the classic sprint at the last World Championships, has yet to fully meet the high expectations placed on him. Despite a promising trajectory over the past several weeks, the 25‐year‐old from Haute-Savoie is still refining his form. He is scheduled to start in the free sprint this Thursday, a race that will be broadcast live on the L'Équipe channel.

Two years ago, before suddenly emerging on the international cross-country scene, Jules was relatively unknown. His breakthrough came at the World Championships in Planica (Slovenia) where he earned a historic bronze in the classic sprint – a first for both a Frenchman and his own career. This achievement put him on the radar, and at 23 he was seen as a promising talent expected to consistently finish on the podium.

However, since that watershed moment, expectations have grown and the pressure has intensified. Although Chappaz added another podium finish in a sprint round at the Tour de Ski 2024 in Toblach, it has not been enough for critics who believed he would completely upend the sport. “I delivered the best performance of my career on the best day,” he recently recalled. He believes that pushing harder for consistency and versatility meant increased training volume – and that led to some setbacks.

Chappaz explains that after an intense training camp in Norway last spring, intended to improve his technique in the classical style in preparation for the Milan 2026 Olympic Games, he overdid it. “I didn’t taper off last spring,” he admits. “I went to Norway in April to ski for a month while on vacation. The goal was to work on endurance for the classic technique ahead of the Olympics. My big mistake was not cutting back sooner in May. Later on, I realized that I should have eased off earlier. Until the end of October, I was well-prepared, but then I started falling ill.”

His coach, Thibaut Chêne, acknowledges the difficult phase the young skier experienced. “We’ve been pushing all the limits for a year and a half – that was part of the plan,” says Chêne. “He really increased his straight-line speed in Norway during the spring. The season started up and down – a stressful period, but with a shared project and conviction, we knew we were on the right track. We made mistakes, but we corrected them.”

Now, seeing signs of recovery – including a fourth-place finish in the last sprint before the World Championships in Falun – Chappaz remains cautiously optimistic. “It’s hard for me to believe I’m medal-worthy right now,” he concedes, “but I’m going to try to deliver my best sprint in the skate technique.” His performance is crucial for France, especially in the team sprint he forms with Richard Jouve, as they are counted among the country’s best hopes for medals.

Despite the Norwegian dominance in cross-country skiing – a situation compared by Chêne to top cycling teams – the French camp is determined. “We’re clear outsiders,” he warns. “But we have a trajectory. We’re capable of taking on the Norwegian mountain – we’re going for it.”