four things to know about Richard Jouve, still on the sprint podium in Davos

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This is called having a sense of timing. French cross-country skier Richard Jouve signed another podium on Saturday by finishing third in the free sprint in Davos, Switzerland. On Saturday, Jouve was beaten by the Norwegian Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, leader of the general classification, and by the Russian Sergey Ustiugov, while Lucas Chanavat finished in 6th place. The 27-year-old Frenchman is gaining momentum and signing his best career start to the season, just under two months before the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. Here are four things to know about Richard Jouve.

Providential third place

Richard Jouve is a repeat offender. The Habs signed this Saturday, their second podium in a free sprint in eight days (their 11th in the World Cup), after that acquired in Lillehammer on December 3. On a good dynamic, Jouve has never done worse than fourth this season on this particular exercise in the free sprint. “The races are extremely difficult at the moment, I have to continue to give the best of myself with the form I have, because it is really very good”, he assured Nordic Magazine after his first podium of the season in Norway eight days ago.

This third place sticks to his skis, he who has already in recent years signed some choice results and two medals on major events (in the sprint relay at the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018, and in the 4x10km relay at the 2019 Worlds), each time in bronze. The one gleaned from Seefeld two years ago had a rather particular flavor, he who had taken the French relay to the box, being the last tricolor relay. The objective now is to win an individual medal at the Beijing Olympics… and trade bronze for gold. “I want to know this feeling, while being aware of the difficulty of achieving this goal” he proclaimed in December 2019 for Nordic Magazine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5d1Dz4YKgI

An atypical profile …

On the paths of glory and the white circus, Richard Jouve amazes in more than one way. Few of the members of the French Métis winter sports teams, he whose mother is a former sportswoman from Djibouti. “In Östersund, Norwegians and Swedes came to congratulate the French clan on my performance because I was mixed race, and that made a difference to the others” he explained to Ski Chrono to return to his first points scored in the World Cup, in 2015.

Jouve is a journey, but also a physique that clashes with the canons of his sport. The native of Briançon has athletic characteristics closer to that of a basketball player, or even a rugby player. “When he joined the regional committee as a cadet, he came to challenge older people like me., recalled for Nordic Mag Cyril Burdet, now coach of the France team. In pure speed, he was already very impressive. Its ability to suddenly accelerate is extraordinary: on this point, it is among the very best in the world.“

… a style that is just as important

Richard Jouve, a pure sprinter, then? The label is misleading if we are to believe Thibault Chène, coach of the French women’s team, who compared the founder to double world cycling champion Julian Alaphilippe. “He is the archetype of the modern and versatile founder: he loves classic and skateboarding, he is very good at sprinting as well as in distance.“he deciphered to Nordic Magazine.

If he shines since the start of the season in the free sprint event, Jouve is a jack-of-all-trades, as evidenced by his fourth place in the general classification of the OPA Cup, the European Cup for cross-country skiing, in The resident of the Montgenèvre club is now aiming for an Olympic title, which he did not initially think of a success in the sprint that has been successful for him so recently. “My childhood dream is to win a 50 km at the Worlds or at the Olympics“he told Ski Chrono in January 2017.

Alpine roots

The man is not nearly a surprise. He seeks golden shine in Beijing, while he cherishes the calm of his mountain and of a relatively little exposed discipline on a daily basis. Much less than alpine skiing, the sport he started with as a child, before moving to the bottom at the age of 12.

This great shy person, who likes to cultivate secrecy, say those close to him, now runs down the slopes on occasion as an escape route. “The alpine allows me to do something else once or twice a season when I start to get tired or get a little fed up. It’s a way to recharge my batteries.” In any case, Jouve does not seem tired of success. He is currently in seventh place in the World Cup standings, and especially third in the sprint.


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