Nordic World Ski Championships: Frenchmen Lucas Chanavat and Hugo Lapalus aim for the podium in Trondheim

At the forefront in recent winters in the World Cup, the French cross-country skiers will want to confirm their good health at the 2025 World Championships in Trondheim (Norway), with the main medal chances being Lucas Chanavat in the sprint, Hugo Lapalus in the distance, as well as in the relay. "For the World Championships, I think we are one of the strongest teams. Before, we were a little in difficulty in certain formats, especially the classic. Today, in each race, we know that we have the weapons to play at the front," Alexandre Rousselet, head of the French World Cup group, told AFP.

They will play one of their trump cards on Thursday in the individual sprint in freestyle, with Lucas Chanavat, Jules Chappaz (bronze in classic style in 2023) and Richard Jouve (winner of the Sprint World Cup in 2022), capable of getting involved in the fight for the title, promised to the Norwegian Johannes Klaebo, who will have the pressure to shine in his hometown. "Lucas is quite consistent over the season. He is our leader in skating (freestyle, Editor's note), the World Championships are every four years, the opportunities to be able to play for a medal in this format are quite rare. For him, it is the objective of his season", says Rousselet.

In skating, Chanavat has only missed three podiums in the last 11 sprints contested in the World Cup, and at 30 years old will want to win a medal in the major championships in Trondheim, where he took 2nd place behind Klaebo last winter. The French will also have a good card to play in the team sprint event, this time in classic style, after the second place of Jouve and Chappaz at the end of January in Cogne (Italy).

Leader of the French distance team, Hugo Lapalus has only progressed over the last three seasons, with his first podiums, including one over 20km in classic, on the program over a distance half as long in Trondheim. The French men's group has expanded this winter, with the emergence of Mathis Desloges and Victor Lovera, a density that should allow them to return to the podium in relays (six times bronze medalist out of eight since 2014, Olympics and World Championships combined), after a frustrating 4th place two years ago in Planica (Slovenia).

The best Frenchwoman in the last two winters (four podiums, including one victory), Delphine Claudel had to end her season prematurely at the end of December due to a stress fracture in her foot. Flora Dolci took over, with several races in the top ten, including a 6th place in the 20km freestyle mass start at the end of January.

In the other two Nordic disciplines, the hopes of podiums are much slimmer. In ski jumping, Joséphine Pagnier has marked time a little this winter (14th place three times), after having signed her first victories last winter (Lillehammer and Engelberg). In the men's event, Valentin Foubert is progressing and is knocking on the doors of the top 10 (12th and 13th in 2025). In Nordic combined, Léna Brocard invited herself into the top 5 in Seefeld at the end of January (the discipline is not Olympic for women), while the men have only entered the top 10 once (Matteo Baud, ninth at the start of the season).