The news about Emilien Jacquelin’s biathlon career that was maybe anticipated once he competed in his first professional cycling race became a reality today. In a video posted by the French Ski Federation, Jacquelin said, “I made the decision to continue cycling for the next few months and as a result next winter will not be with the biathlon team.”

The Milan/Cortina Relay Gold and Pursuit Bronze medalist was unsure how far his cycling adventure would go in our June interview.

Valued Teammate

As he always did in biathlon, Jacquelin passionately committed to cycling this past summer, putting in thousands of kilometers in the saddle, preparing for his professional cycling debut in August. In the La Polynormande and the Tours of Limousin and Britain, the rookie proved his strength and value to the Decathlon CMA CGM team driving the peloton, keep teammates in the podium hunt.

14 years after his last cycling race, the French star admitted cycling could be his path to Alpes 2030, “Quentin, Emilien, Fabien, Eric and me all want to go to 2030, but it is not as simple as we think. There are a lot of young athletes with energy and motivation. I know that if I really want to be there in 2030, I need to be hungry and feel the same motivation as the young guys. That is what I want to reach by doing this cycling.”

“The goal…remains the 2030 Olympic Games”

In his video statement today, the 31-year-old reiterated his commitment to both cycling and his home Olympic dream. “My biathlon story is not over. The goal as I have always said, remains the 2030 Olympic Games. Today’s path is different and special but I feel it is in line with what I want to do.”

In closing, Jacquelin said he continues to, “follow what my (biathlon) teammates are doing in training and at competitions. They have a great team that will give you a lot of excitement. Thanks for the support and I will see you soon.”

To be continued...

Photos: IBU/Ola Wizor, Emilien Jacquelin