The French Rowing team concluded around fifteen training sessions this week at the Bellecin base, on Lake Vouglans, in the Jura, in preparation for the Olympic Games.
The French rowing team has been training at the Bellecin outdoor base on Lake Vouglans in Haut-Jura for several decades.
The athletes ended their fortnight on this basis this weekend of April 22. There is a 2000 meter pool, with Olympic standards, specifically dedicated to training. “We are green in every sense of the word. This also allows us to take a step back, to refocus on ourselves, before major deadlines”describes Camille Ribes, coach of the women’s doubles in all categories of the French rowing team.
In the water, as in every training session, all the little details count. For example, light blood samples are taken from athletes. “These are very small blood samples, just a small drop, to analyze their lactate level in the blood after a competitive course, to see their investment, the proper respect of the training zones, and their level of fatigue”, detailed Allison Diry, physiologist at the Olympic group’s performance support mission. The samples are analyzed immediately to adapt the diet and rest times before the next sessions.
For the entire French team, it was the first training course after the winter period, largely devoted to physical and physiological work. “We remained very stable at the average level, but it was painful”, reacts Emma Lunatti, member of the French women’s team. She and Margaux Bailleul are already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
A course which was also marked by fairly low temperatures. “It was very cold, we had a lot of wind”describes Margaux Bailleul. “The first week, it wasn’t very bloody. 0 degrees with wind and sometimes rain, it was a bit tiring. There, we’re lucky, at the end of the course, we have sunshine”adds Emma Lunatti. “We take what we have to take. If they know how to row in harsh conditions, here in the Jura, they will know how to row even better in calmer conditions, I hope for them, in Paris”, explains their coach, Camille Ribes.
