Since spring 2022, Cyril Burdet has been the coach of the French women's biathlon team, guiding them to the top of their sport in just a few years. The team has achieved remarkable success, with athletes like Julia Simon and Lou Jeanmonnot winning major crystal globes, and the group earning numerous world and Olympic medals over four seasons. In an article on the website of the International Biathlon Union (IBU), Burdet discusses the factors behind this impressive rise. "Part of it is that we have found a way to move forward in the same direction, from regional committees to the World Cup," Burdet explains. "Of course, each coach has their own plan, but the goal is the same for everyone. The will to progress that drives the entire group, including coaches and technicians, allows the team to become better and for the athletes to improve individually. We are also very lucky to have a good generation of athletes, who choose their own path and all want to reach the top." Burdet's coaching philosophy centers on leveraging the strengths of each athlete. His background as the former coach of the French cross-country skiing team has also contributed to this golden age of French women's biathlon. "My main objective is to help them ski faster, but I must also have an overall vision of what is happening within the team," he says. "I talk about the physical aspect, but also the emotional side of training. I like this intellectual dimension, which requires time and energy, but it is part of the game." "My philosophy is to work on the strengths of each athlete," Burdet continues. "That is the starting point. Then I look for the areas of improvement, which differ from one athlete to another. Some have a large margin of improvement in the shooting range, others in skiing. Biathlon is a combination of these elements and many others. The goal is to find out how to improve each athlete." "We have experienced a lot of success, but I am convinced that we can do better," Burdet says, looking ahead to the upcoming season, which will lead up to the 2030 Alpine Games. "The challenge of this year will be to manage things well. It is not a reset, because what we have achieved is already established. It is a new beginning, because if we think we will achieve the same results with the same methods, it will not work. We therefore have one year to adjust things and determine what we need to change in order to continue to progress and achieve more success." "We have experienced a lot of success, but I am convinced that we can do better, and not only in terms of competitive performance," he adds. Individually, all the athletes are looking for something that will allow them to reach a new level. With very young athletes arriving, it will be interesting to observe the confrontation between the more experienced ones, who have won everything, and the young ones who want to take their place.