French head coach Jerome Laheurte is satisfied. After his team completed a four-day training camp at the Summer Grand Prix venue of Tschagguns in the Montafon region in Austria, the group is making good progress. „It is interesting to see how the whole group progresses and the average level rises. The differences after the jump are not so big anymore, despite the very high level of Francois Braud and Maxime Laheurte. The work is paying off for the young athletes and this is very reassuring“, Laheurte said.

During the camp, the group lived in the facilities of the Alpine/Nordic sports school and was even able to have breakfast with a beautiful view at the foot of the hills.

A test competition held on Friday saw Francois Braud taking the win with 41 seconds on Maxime Laheurte and 59 seconds on Hugo Buffard. Braud and Laheurte were separated by two seconds only after having made two beautiful jumps while Buffard confirmed his role as a cross-country expert once more and had to start with one minute and 30 seconds of time behind.

In the junior group, Laurent Muhlethaler took the win ahead of Lilian Vaxelaire and Brice Ottonello.

The last week of July will now be an off week for the athletes before the group will return to Courchevel for some new tests. These tests in conjunction with some national competitions will serve as decisive factors for the team selection for the 2015 Summer Grand Prix.

Source: fis-ski.com