Biathlon: a disabling injury for Simon Fourcade
Late Sunday evening, Simon Fourcadephysical coach of the French men's biathlon team, revealed on his social networks having been the victim, during the truce, of a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee. Already injured in his back at the start of summer preparation, the 2009 mixed relay world champion is therefore starting 2025 off badly.
This Monday morning, Simon Fourcadeon the way toOberhof (Germany), returned to the circumstances of his injury to Nordic Magazine : ” It was [il y a une semaine jour pour jour] during a classic ski day. I just felt a crunch on a fall at 9:45 a.m. and then I was able to finish my day until 4:30 p.m.! I had slight discomfort and felt apprehensive on my left leg”he explains.
It was only afterwards, therefore, that the diagnosis was made. “After discussion with the doctor of the French Ski Federation, the plan is that I will try to finish the season like thisrevealed Simon Fourcade. First there will be three cool weeks without doing too much skiing so as not to stress about the cross. Then, I will certainly be able to resume skiing with a brace and start strengthening the peripheral muscles. »
Once the season ends, in spring, Simon Fourcade will go through the operation box. “We generally say it’s six months, but I hope it will be less if it’s well taken care of and I do effective rehabilitation”he says.
No preparation course in Lenzerheide, no skiing with the athletes, no break-in to help the technicians
Concerning the practical consequences of the injury from the head coach of the men's group of the French biathlon team, they are multiple.
First of all, she participated in preventing the Blues from carrying out, as planned, a mini preparation course in Lenzerheide (Switzerland)where the Worlds will take place next month, before leaving for Oberhof. “We had too few staff to ensure its operation”noted Simon Fourcade.
“Above all, I can't ski with the athletes and it's quite annoying because these are important moments to exchangehe continues. I also can't move significantly on the track. Finally, this will really penalize me in the work of breaking in the cross-country skis. »
Every morning, the coaches actually come to lend a hand to the technicians. “While they are in the truck, we do laps with the skis already prepared so that they have a few kilometers so that the technicians can do the most relevant tests possible. We do between 10 and 15 km of running-in per day! So this is something that I could not do in January and which will be the responsibility of the technicians”regret Simon Fourcade.
