Lou-Anne Dupont Ballet Baz has had a perfect start to the 2025/2026 season. She has won three races in the IBU Junior Cup and has always finished in the top 10. How does she manage to hold her own in the strong French team and what dreams does she still want to fulfil in her biathlon career?

The past season was not easy for Lou-Anne Dupont Ballet Baz. After competing in the IBU Junior Cup in December 2024, those would be her last international races for this series. She made too many mistakes, especially at the shooting range. But the 20-year-old learned from this experience and used the summer to work on her weaknesses.

In the 2025/2026 season, she appears to be from another planet. With three victories in the IBU Junior Cup before the Christmas break, she confidently leads the overall standings. She is consistently among the best skiers and has stabilised her shooting performance. “I'm managing to strike a good balance between running and shooting [that] I haven’t managed that for a long time. For me, shooting is the more difficult part of biathlon.”

Following in the footsteps of successful French female athletes

She draws inspiration from Lou Jeanmonnot and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet. “Watching them compete in biathlon motivates me.” Dupont Ballet Baz faces stiff competition within the French team. Her teammates consistently perform well in the Junior Cup and the IBU Cup and France is among the world's best in the World Cup. Even the internal qualification process for the team is tough. “We have so many good biathletes who can win races. That makes it difficult for young athletes to move up. But I see the competition in our team as an opportunity to keep getting better myself.” She also looks up to Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. The French cyclist is an Olympic champion and multiple world champion. “She had so many setbacks and defeats, but she always got back up again. That's very inspiring for me.”

What will the future hold?

Lou-Anne Dupont Ballet Baz hopes that one day she will have something in common with her role model. Ferrand-Prévot won gold at the 2024 Olympic Games in France. “My big goal is to compete in the 2030 Winter Olympics. They will be held in my home country, and there's nothing better than that for an athlete.” But until then, her next goal is to compete in the World Cup.

Photos: IBU I Authamayou