Lucas Chanavat returns to the French team to race the Trondheim sprint

French cross‑country sprint specialist Lucas Chanavat is back with the national team after a tibial stress fracture suffered in September cost him much of his preseason.

According to French distance team manager Alexandre Rousselet, Chanavat arrived in Norway overnight and will start Friday’s classic sprint at the Trondheim World Cup. He trained lightly on Thursday to regain sensations on snow, doing fewer repetitions than teammates due to a reduced training load.

With roughly two months until the Milano–Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, the staff is managing expectations. Rousselet acknowledged Chanavat’s preparation has been significantly delayed and that it is hard to predict his level because he lacks on‑ski references. The plan is to assess whether he is on pace and how he responds to race intensity.

Team France will avoid over‑loading him: the Trondheim sprint will be his only race this weekend. The freestyle sprint in Davos on December 13 is viewed as a better competitive benchmark to evaluate his true form.