In recent years, the French women’s cross-country skiing team has been growing and becoming increasingly balanced. We’re seeing the emergence of young talents, such as Cloé Pagnier, who competed in her first Olympic Games last winter.

In an exclusive interview with ProXCskiing.com, Cloé Pagnier talks about her career and goals.

After making her World Cup debut in January 2025, the 24-year-old Frenchwoman has since put in some outstanding performances in the FESA Cup, including two consecutive victories on the circuit in January 2026.

Her outstanding results earned her a “last-minute” spot on the team for the Milano-Cortina Olympic Games:

“My selection for the Olympic Games came late, at the very last minute… If someone had told me that I’d be competing in my first Olympics in Milano-Cortina around Christmas, I wouldn’t have believed it!” she tells ProXCskiing.com.

Cloé Pagnier then tells us that this unexpected selection was a valuable lesson in self-sacrifice for her:

“So, it was an extraordinary experience that first taught me never to give up. It’s true that the start of the 2025/2026 winter season didn’t live up to my expectations, given the standards I’d set for myself and the hard work I’d put in… I had my doubts, I was patient, I kept working, and doors finally opened to lead me to that famous selection, an experience that undoubtedly helped me grow and made me realize that nothing is ever truly lost,” she says.

The French skier goes on to explain how she experienced her three weeks at the Olympics:

“So I made the most of that three-week break 1000 percent! I was there, I had nothing to lose, just to have fun and gain experience in three events I’d never competed in before: the skiathlon, the women’s relay, and the 50km classic, the flagship event of the Games,” she says before adding:

“It felt like time stood still; there was pressure, of course, but the good kind. On a personal level, I was also able to share this experience with my loved ones: my family and friends who had made the trip, and that’s no small thing! It was a real source of pride to be part of this Olympic team, and this experience gives me a lot of motivation for what’s ahead.”

All of this new experience she has gained naturally led to her selection for Group A of the French national team for this upcoming season; Cloé explains how she’s handling this change:

“I joined the French national team (France A), with Vincent Vittoz as head coach. I’ve been working with Vincent for three years now, and it’s nice to have this continuity with the same coach over several years. He’s starting to get to know me well, to understand how I work, and that allows us to refine and optimize my training based on my strengths and the areas I want to develop, always with the goal of continuing to improve.”

This year, the French team consists of eight women, which Cloé Pagnier sees as a real advantage:

“We’re actually a group of eight girls, and each one is a source of inspiration. We don’t all have the same strengths, but we all push each other to do our best so that everyone can contribute their best to the group. We have great team chemistry!”

Also Read: French cross-country skiing teams for season 2026/2027

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The French skier also talks about her highly focused summer training:

“My summer and autumn training went well overall. Working with my coach, we made some decisions back in the spring about the approach and direction I wanted to take to try to be the best version of myself when it counts. Among these choices was a commitment to doing a lot of high-altitude training, heat training, and treadmill sessions to gather reliable data on my personal performance metrics, as well as skiing on the Tignes glacier and in the Torsby tunnel,” she says, adding:

“Overall, everything went well; it certainly required a lot of effort, but it also yielded a pretty positive return on that investment in terms of how I felt and my motivation.”

This summer, Cloé Pagnier took advantage of several competitions to race against other athletes, including the HautDoubsloppet, the Alliansloppet, and the French Roller Ski Championships, where she won the title in the individual freestyle event:

“We competed in three events: the HautDoubsLoppet, the Alliansloppet, and the French Championships. In terms of results, it’s true that long double-poling races aren’t really my forte, but I realized that I was more focused on the process than on achieving a specific result. Then, my title as French champion in the individual skate event really boosted my confidence and confirmed that I was definitely a force to be reckoned with. And that felt great!” she says.

This season, the young skier is looking at things differently. Full of motivation, she plans to take her career to the next level:

“It’s true that finishing on the World Cup circuit last year made me want to come back—but this time to compete at a high level, rather than just treating it as an experience. I’d like to make a name for myself in the distance events, especially the skiathlon, with the goal of finishing in the top 20.

She’ll have a chance to find her footing very soon, as she’s expected to be part of the French team for the first World Cup stop in Ruka:

“I’m happy and excited to be able to start my season in Ruka this year. It’s a big change, a big challenge, but I want to show that I’m ready to go right from the start of the season,” Cloé explains, before adding:

“My main goals are to perform consistently on the World Cup circuit, to compete in the Tour de Ski, which starts right here at home (in Les Rousses, France), and of course, to compete in the World Championships in Falun.”

Before heading to the first major competitions of the winter, Cloé Pagnier shares her schedule for the final weeks of preparation:

“The training program for the past few months has been based on a solid, simple structure, building on the work established since the start of my preparation:

– A new altitude training block, split between Prémanon—where I do hypoxia training—and Bessans, where I can get back on my skis to regain the feel for gliding.

– High-intensity sessions, including threshold training at the start of the training camp, followed by sessions that gradually mimic the race formats I’ll be competing in this winter.

– A new short block of heat acclimatization training, following the altitude training, before I fly off to the first international competitions.”

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