Frenchman Jules Chappaz is one of the world’s top cross-country skiing sprinters. After falling ill just a few days before the sprint event at the Milano-Cortina Olympics, he returned from the Games frustrated but more motivated than ever.

Jules Chappaz has competed in 104 World Cup races, including five individual podium finishes in the sprint and two podium finishes in the team sprint. He also won a bronze medal in the sprint at the 2023 World Championships in Planica!

In an interview with ProXCskiing.com, Jules Chappaz looks back on his results from recent years and talks to us about his training and goals for the future.

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

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Since winning your World Championship medal in the sprint event at Planica, you’ve made it onto the World Cup podium several times. Do you eventually plan to make the Small Crystal Globe in the sprint a goal?

“This season, I went into the final sprint of the year in third place in the overall sprint standings; I had a pretty consistent season with four finals and two podium finishes. I really enjoyed being in contention for a spot on the overall sprint podium, even though I fell short by 20 or 30 points,” Chappaz says and adds:

“I don’t know if I’d make the small globe a goal because the guys at the top are really strong, but trying to secure a podium finish in the overall standings will definitely be a goal for the next two or three seasons; that is clear.

To achieve this, I’ve come to realize that every detail counts: you can miss out on a spot in the semifinals because of a single foot placement, and that costs a huge number of points. If I give it my all every time, that can really add up to some great points to count on at the end of the season.

The goal will be to perform well every weekend and to be in a position to make a final assessment a few rounds before the end of the season so we can compete for the overall title in this discipline right to the very end.

I’ve always enjoyed being as consistent as possible, and competing for the overall title shows that consistency and hard work pay off in the long run, so that’s something I really like.”

We’re entering a new Olympic cycle, and the cross-country skiing events at the 2030 Olympic Games will take place right in your backyard in La Clusaz: What does that mean to you?

“I was born in La Clusaz; my parents live there, and that’s where I had all my ‘firsts.’ The first few times I put on cross-country skis were there, with the ‘Club des sports de La Clusaz.’ My parents’ house is two minutes away from the Plateau des Confins, and it’s something few athletes will ever experience in their careers: having the Olympic Games right in their own backyard.

The Olympic Games will be a major goal for us; we’re also trying to work with the resort to have a say on the slopes and prepare the venue ahead of the Games, so that when the big day arrives, we can make the most of our home-field advantage.

The 2030 Games will be my main goal, and I don’t think I’ll be competing for the overall sprint title that year so I can really focus on the Olympic Games on home soil.”

You did a long training camp at high altitude on the Tignes glacier with the French national team in June. What were the goals and focus areas for that camp?

“The goal of the training camp in Tignes was to spend three weeks at high altitude while combining that with skiing on snow. We were really lucky; the conditions were amazing, we stayed in great accommodation, and the atmosphere within the group was fantastic.

This camp is a great way to kick off summer training with three solid weeks of high-quality training. The training session went really well because we completed almost 60% of the training on skis in the morning, and in the afternoon, we had a little more flexibility, splitting our time between cycling, running, and weight training. We were also able to take advantage of the nearby mountain passes to do some great threshold and high-intensity workouts as a group.

Personally, I think this is one of my favorite training camps every year; it’s a must-attend event for working on technical skills on skis and taking advantage of the high altitude to kick off summer training right on the snow. It’s a way to ease back into training before July and August, when the schedule gets busier and busier. But this summer, we’ll be in Scandinavia for three weeks for the Blink Festival and Toppidrettsveka, where we’ll get to go on some runs, and that’s awesome.”

What are your expectations and goals for the upcoming World Championships in Falun?

“Next year, the goal at the World Championships in Falun will be to perform well in the sprint and the team sprint. Personally, I’ve had good results at the World Championships so far: I won a medal in 2023 in Planica and finished fourth in Trondheim in 2025. So, I hope to go for another medal in the sprint, and I’d love to win a medal in the team sprint because I really want to experience the joy of a team medal, and I think the World Championships in Falun could really be a good fit for us. Plus, the team sprint in Falun will be in the classic style, which is a style I particularly enjoy.

The goal will be to arrive there as confident as possible after a strong start to the season and to try to win medals in every race I compete in, because winning medals at the World Championships is amazing and it can change a career.”

Read More: Two new faces in the French World Cup training group: Cullet Calderini and Correia

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