Vincent Vittoz (born 17 July 1975 in

Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie () is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its Prefectures in France, prefecture is Annecy. To the north is Lake Gene ...

) is a French former cross-country skier,

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

and coach. He grew up in the town of

La Clusaz La Clusaz (; , ) is an alpine commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. Overview Hosting a ski resort in the French Alps near the Swiss border, the commune is part of the Haute-Savo ...

in the Northern French Alps and has been competing since 1982. He made his

FIS Cross-Country World Cup The FIS Cross-Country World Cup is an annual cross-country skiing competition, arranged by the International Ski Federation (FIS) since 1981. The competition was arranged unofficially between 1973 and 1981, although it received provisional recogn ...

debut in January 1996 in

Nové Město na Moravě Nové Město na Moravě (; ) is a town in Žďár nad Sázavou District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,800 inhabitants. It is known as a winter sports resort. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protecte ...

, finishing 22nd in a 15 km classical race. He won a gold medal in the 15 km + 15 km double pursuit at the

2005 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2005 took place 16–27 February 2005 in Oberstdorf, Germany, for the second time after hosting it previously in 1987. The ski jumping team normal hill event returned after not being held in 2003 2 ...

Oberstdorf Oberstdorf (Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in German ...

. As of 2018 Vittoz is the only French cross-country skiing world champion. Vittoz's best overall team finish at the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

was a fourth place in the 4 × 10 km relay events in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

in the

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and in

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2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. His best individual finish in Turin was sixth in the 15 km + 15 km double pursuit in. He finished fifth in the 15 km free event in Vancouver. He competed in four Olympic Games in total, in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, 2006 and 2010. Vittoz won seven World Cup individual events and one World Cup team event. He was ranked second in the overall classification of the 2005 World Cup. Vittoz served as an ambassador for Annecy's bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics. He retired from competition at the end of the 2010-11 season, taking up a position as coach of the French national under-23 cross-country ski team in the spring of 2011. Seven years later, he was appointed as the coach of the French national biathlon team.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games

World Championships

* 1 medal – (1 gold)

World Cup

Season standings

Individual podiums

*8 victories – (7 , 1 ) *26 podiums – (23 , 3 )

Team podiums

* 1 victory – (1 ) * 7 podiums – (7 )

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vittoz, Vincent 1975 births Cross-country skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics French male cross-country skiers Living people Olympic cross-country skiers for France Skiers from Annecy FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in cross-country skiing French sports coaches Cross-country skiing coaches 20th-century French sportsmen