The XV of France female arrived in Tignes this Monday to start the second block of its preparation for the World Cup. The players of Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz refine the smallest details with more than beneficial altitude work.
It is on the side of Tignes, in the Alps, that the French female team decided to flee the heat of the city to refine the last details of a World Cup that is fast approaching. Here, David Ortiz and Gaëlle Mignot begin with their players the second part of their preparation before the big departure in England in mid-August. Under a temperature far from the standards displayed in recent weeks with a thermometer that has difficulty exceeded 14 degrees, Manae Feleu and its teammates have gradually adapted to the altitude. Between bodybuilding sessions, specific workshops and separate working groups on the ground, the players gradually entered the heart of the matter. This Tuesday afternoon was the last training of the day at low intensity, in public, under the most curious gaze, before attacking the average intensity this Wednesday. A change of air that Alexandra Chambon, particularly appreciates: “I had already had the chance to come last year with Grenoble. The structures are dementia so it is nice to be able to change a little air after two weeks in Marcoussis. We were very well received, in a great hotel with very beautiful infrastructures … It’s great for the preparation!“.
A more than precious altitude
If the days on Monday and Tuesday therefore made it possible to get started gradually, it is a slightly more intense program that awaits the players on the weekend and the melee half knows it well: “Personally, for the moment I feel good at this altitude but I know that there is still a small start -up to have. It was not the most intensive training on the first two days, I think that tomorrow it will bite a little more with contact and everything else!” This Wednesday, it is indeed a sacred day that awaits the players with a test in hypoxia at the Tignes glacier. The 2175 meters above sea level of the Faugere stadium will therefore probably appear to be very appreciable in the afternoon!
If the tricolor staff has embarked on its players at altitude it is no coincidence. The co-selection of the France team explains: “There is a development of globules which will help the players to improve recovery. There is a time of adaptation which is necessary since there is less oxygen and that is what will develop these globules”. David Ortie continues: “The important thing for us is to acclimatize at first and then to develop physical skills with physical efforts that we will bring to girls gradually during the internship. So the idea is really to leave from here with, more fuel in the engine to be able to face the World Cup with a surplus perhaps oxygen or physical capacity than the other teams”. As a reminder, before flying to England, Marine Household and his teammates will first meet in Marcoussis at the end of this internship in Tignes to prepare to challenge England. A hell of a challenge before making the big leap!