What a difference a year can make, just ask Lou Jeanmonnot and Eric Perrot. One year ago, Jeanmonnot was on the verge of winning the World Cup Total Score until she catastrophically fell on the final turn into the Holmenkollen Ski Stadium, finishing 20 points short of the Big Crystal Globe. Fast forward to this past weekend, she held the precious trophy high above her head, winning the title after a 365-day delay.

For Perrot, who finished third behind Sturla Holm Laegreid and JT Boe last year, this past weekend culminated the season he dreamed of, winning the World Cup Total Score Crystal Globe. He expected a huge battle, but once Tommy Giacomel dropped out with heart issues, it was a runaway for Perrot who admitted last summer, “That has been my dream, my big goal.”

Now he and Jeanmonnot both can say, “mission accomplished,” the first French duo to win the Total Score in the same season. With the 2025/26 season in the books, the two big winners answered a few questions about their extremely successful seasons.

Biathlonworld: How stressful was this season when you add in the Olympics and the expectations that you would win the Total Score?

Lou Jeanmonnot: It was really exhausting. It was emotionally really exhausting: being happy, being sad, sometimes disappointed and then back to training, pain in training and feeling the stress from friends and family. Adding everything, in the end, it’s like I need to stop now! The main thing is that it’s quiet now. I feel better.

BW: Everyone knows the Total Score was your goal, but did it turn out to be harder to achieve than you expected?

Eric Perrot: Not harder, but I knew what I needed to do. I knew it was going to be tough, to be on top every day. The day you are not feeling good, you also have to be on top and on the day you feel good, you have to make this happen. It was tough like I imagined. It’s a little difficult to fully understand that now it happened. Now it’s done.

BW: What motivated you, especially when you said, “it’s not easy all the time,” and gave you the final push to really fight for it?

LJ: My fall last year…The first thing I thought was that this was meant to lead to a win later. I was feeling that and now I had to grab it! This was the difficult part. During the training, I was not easy, knowing that I have many skills and the many abilities I need to win the globe. But in the end, just the last push was exhausting. Because the whole process was difficult.

BW: A few times this season, you have not performed up to your own high standards, what was your biggest disappointment?

EP: That is difficult. Some little disappointments, like maybe in the Oslo Sprint with the last bullets and the Sprint Globe was not mine. That is a part of it. Of course, not making an individual Gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games. I see it like a chance because I still have a lot of dreams in front of me. I want to continue to push harder over the next four years to be able to take this.

BW: Beyond winning the Total Score, what was your personal highlight of the season?

LJ: It was between the Olympics and Le Grand Bornand. I was looking forward to Le Grand Bornand because it was difficult for me two years ago. It was kind of a beast. I wanted to show my best at home with many family and friends was something I really cared about, and I was able to do it. That is maybe what I was most proud of. For sure the Olympics were an absolute great experience, but I would say it was not so great as I was thinking. We were not able to share the podiums. We were alone all the way, just facing media. It’s better here. I feel at home, feeling close and knowing people around me is something I enjoy more.

BW: You never stop learning in sports and especially in a multi-faceted one like biathlon, what did you learn about yourself this season?

EP: I learned a lot about myself in 10 years; not so much more this year but the last 10 years have been such a great experience for me. This was my dream since I started biathlon. I built everything around this, working with myself most of the time to succeed when it was possible. This season I understood if I was prepared mentally, I could really enjoy my biathlon. I am just proud be myself, not more, not less. That helped me bring back the overall.

BW: Is there any advice you’ve gotten that always rolls through you mind on race days?

LJ: In a race, I like to rely on facts, to ski a certain way and to shoot with certain feelings. Like feeling your body and where you are in that moment. Being confident in a way that you do not think you are bad at something, but to see where you can improve. When I was young, I thought I was a bad skier for many years. In the IBU Cup, I was aiming for the four-stage races since I was a good shooter. Now I know I am a good skier, but my coach had to work on it. When I was 18, I was a good shooter but a bad skier. He said, ‘how can you say that?’ I had many great points, and, in the end, it was all mental. Because I thought I was slow, I was slow!

BW: Now with your first Total Score win in hand, how much more respect do you have for Johannes, Martin, Ole, and Raphael with their multiple wins?

EP: I have so much respect for them anyway. Before doing this, I knew it was going to be tough. I knew what I had to do to perform at this level. They are still at the top of the list because they did it many times. I have a lot of work to do before I can join them. I have such big respect for what they have done. I just want to continue my own way and to make the best possible in the next years.

As the snow disappears and flowers start to bloom, Lou and Eric can take a deep breath and rest on their laurels for a bit. Yet, before they realize it, May 1 and a new training season will arrive; it will be time to refocus on the task adding a second World Cup Total Score Crystal Globe to their trophy case.

Photos: IBU/Manzoni, Yevenko, Nordic Focus