Kontiolahti, Finland, 14 March 2020. After five Olympic titles and 11 individual world titles, one of the greatest biathletes in history finishes with a final victory in pursuit... in front of empty stands. The world is then preparing to go into lockdown for months in the face of the spread of Covid-19.

Fourcade, for his part, will mature a show project on his career as a high-level sportsman. Entitled "off-piste", lasting an hour and fifteen, the Catalan will present it from autumn in a dozen cities (17 dates in total), including Perpignan, "where it all began".

"I was missing something human in the goodbye I had been able to do," said the man who now holds the position of president of the athletes' commission for the Paris 2024 Games and is a member of that of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

QUESTION: Where did this original idea come from?

ANSWER: "It's a desire that was born during the Covid phase. I realized that I was missing something human in the goodbye I had been able to do in biathlon (...), what is called in high-level sport a jubilee. I quickly realized that a show could fill all the boxes, through a tour in France, this direct contact with the public, emotions that I wanted to share, with a risk too".

Q: The element of surprise is real, have you tried to spare it?

A: "I needed to take ownership of the project, to keep it a little confidential in the first months to be able to move forward with serenity in its construction. On the other hand, over the years, I have talked a lot about the end of career, what is called +the little death+ in sports jargon. (...) In any case, in my heart, I can say that I really felt that the moment I had chosen was the right one. The only regret was not being able to say goodbye as I imagined."

Q: With this show, will you have definitely turned the page?

A: "Yes, there is this feeling. It is a period of my life that will necessarily follow me to the end, because it is something strong and it is a big part of my identity (...). But it's also something that ended sportingly three years ago and that must find its end point and allow me to move on."

Q: How do you put on such a show when you're a novice?

A: "We are accompanied, as in high-level sport. In fact, there are plenty of parallels. It is both universes that are totally different in the codes, on the form, but which, on the substance, are extremely close, from the creation of the project, where we will settle, build a season calendar, to the team we are building... Until this stage fright to go on stage on a specific date. (...) I put together my team a bit piecemeal. First with the co-author, Sébastien Deurdilly, who works in the world of images, then the production with the national stage of Grenoble who introduced me to the director Matthieu Cruciani. In the end, it's a project that involves a good twenty people, including a dozen on the touring part."

Q: Is there more stage fright in the last shot of a biathlon race or the idea of a stage premiere?

A: "There is more stage fright to go on stage because today, I have less control of the universe. When I got to a final race shot, despite the pressure, I had years of competition and an athlete that gave me confidence. It is the challenge of the coming months to build myself through work this sensation that will allow me to transform the stage fright of fear only into stage fright of vigilance. While knowing that the easy thing is that I know the character I'm going to play..."

Q: You have functions at the IOC and in view of the Games. Do you manage?

A: "I have a long tunnel ahead of me that will end at the Paris 2024 Games. I'm not going to lie, it's not going to be a very restful year! I think I've succeeded (so far) thanks to the entourage I've put in place. After that, it's something I like and there's nothing in any of this that I do reluctantly. It's pretty exciting."

Interview by Guillaume KLEIN

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