Clément Pédron, Media365, published on Wednesday December 18, 2024 at 8:30 p.m.
On the eve of the start of the round contested in France near Grand-Bornand, Éric Perrot gave an interview to the Team. The Habs, 4th in the general ranking, want to go even further.
Éric Perrot is the only Frenchman to have raised his arms last season, it was last March near Soldier Hollow in the United States during the sprint. Seeing him more in this 2024 season is therefore nothing extraordinary. At 23 years old, the native of Bourg-Saint-Maurice has already won a race since the launch of this 2024-2025 financial year, it was during the second outing of the season for Kontiolahti in Finland, on the mass-start. Moreover, this success allowed him to lead the general classification for a few days. Fourth overall behind Johannes Boe, Sturla Laegreid and Émilien Jacquelin, Éric Perrot advances like his competitors towards the third round of the World Cup and not just any round since it takes place in France, near Grand-Bornand , from Thursday to Sunday.
For the occasion, the Frenchman answered the team’s questions about his start to the season and the prospect of playing at home: “What changes is the bit of pressure we will have this weekend. end, which we are starting to feel during training, recognizes Perrot. The French fans are crazy actually! Some volunteers are more fans than volunteers, everywhere we feel this expectation, this desire, these looks. I remember going through this two and three years ago. It’s a little heavy when you’re an athlete, you better know who you are, where you are and what you have to put in place because otherwise you can get crushed. But I’ve made progress on that, I’ve taken a step back, I’m a little more calm. You have to be able to free yourself, to express yourself. Because when you’re in the hump there, there’s not much air for us to breathe. If you are in this state, these encouragements will lift you up rather than bury you. »
Great progress
With this place in the general classification, Éric Perrot knows that he will have a lot to do in front of his audience. But he also knows that his recent results speak for him. “Being legitimate helps. I arrive here fourth overall, it’s great, I feel ready to express myself, I am where I want to be, insists the biathlete. There is more waiting, but that doesn’t pose a problem for me at the moment. I too have higher expectations. And it’s not this height of expectation that puts more pressure on me. What has changed is my approach, my desire to win. The pressure I have is to prove that I can handle this. » Aware of his abilities and galvanized by what he has been able to show since the launch of the World Cup, Éric Perrot is heading towards this meeting with anger. And it starts this Thursday with the sprint (10 km).
