The lakes, the vast woodland, the many footpaths, the mountains of Dent de Vaulion and Mont Tendre … all these places are the ones I prefer for my training. In winter, when I’ve run on cross-country skiing tracks all over the world, I always recall the ones at home and their diversity, shape and accessibility suit me, as well as other cross-country skiers of any level, perfectly. 

The cross-country skiing tracks in La Thomassette, near the village of Le Brassus, are my favourite ones. I grew up here together with my parents and two sisters on our farm in Le Solliat, above the village of Le Sentier. Woodland and skiing tracks were right at our door, which was a happy coincidence when my passion became my profession. Everything was in place to climb the career ladder, of which we reached the climax at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, when we won the bronze medal in the ski relay race. Several Swiss Champion titles, five participations in World Championships and over 120 in World Cups, as well as my victory at the Engadin Skimarathon in 2007, have also highly marked my career. 

Vallée de Joux is a jewel of nature, a nature reserve, a magic place where it’s wonderful to live and where recovery comes naturally.