On the occasion of the release of Robin Duvillard’s first book, “Le ski de fond … en comble,” published by Les Passionnés de Bouquins, I’m delighted to introduce this colorful narrative for which I had the honor of illustrating the cover. Never one to hold back on anecdotes, Robin candidly shares insights into his sport, cross-country skiing, as well as the life of a high-level athlete.
But before diving deeper into this book that I eagerly devoured, I wanted to highlight the extraordinary discipline that is cross-country skiing. This sport has a history deeply rooted in mobility in the highland countries—places where the sun shines all day or sometimes only for a few hours, and where snow is not merely a distraction but a true foundation with which people must contend for several months.deal
The origins of cross-country skiing, or how to go from a prehistoric cave to the Olympic Games?
island of Rødøy – Norway
Cross-country skiing is a discipline that was created over 4,000 years ago, during the time of the first Nordic peoples, most likely in Norway. Though it originated in Scandinavia, it quickly spread to all the northern European countries, who adopted it as one of their main means of transportation during the short winter days in that part of our planet. Serving a functional purpose, it allowed people to move more quickly across snow-covered mountain regions for tracking large game in the wilderness and transporting goods.
One of the oldest, if not the oldest, depiction of a skier was discovered on the island of Rødøy in Norway. This rock carving demonstrates the use of planks for hunting during prehistoric times and emphasizes the importance of this mode of transportation for the people of that era.
This famous sculpture, which was vandalized in 2016, served as a model for the illustrations for the Lillehammer Olympic Games in 1994 and inspired a series of drawings representing the various major families of sports disciplines present at that Olympiad.
For years, cross-country skiing remained a means of transportation before evolving into a sport. The first cross-country skiing competitions appeared in the 18th century in Scandinavia and Finland before spreading to other countries. The word “ski,” which comes from an old Norwegian language and is said to mean “wooden plank,” was only introduced to France in the 19th century. It became permanently ingrained in the French language with its inclusion in the Larousse dictionary in 1876.
These exclusively Scandinavian competitions led to the introduction of cross-country skiing as an Olympic sport in the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924 in Chamonix.
Since the inception of international competitions, Norwegians, Swedes, Russians, and Germans have dominated the fields of cross-country skiing and more broadly, Nordic skiing, which is composed of ski jumping, cross-country skiing, and biathlon—a relatively newer discipline.
To discover more about the disciplines of Nordic skiing, click here.
The awesome news
In Norse mythology, there exists a God of skiing in the form of Ill or Illr, the adoptive son of the legendary Thor, and a goddess in the form of the giantess Skadi, who is married to a god of Asgard.
Both of these deities are associated with hunting and winter. Traditionally depicted with their usual attributes, they are also equipped with curious planks on their feet that allow them to move easily over water and snow.
If further proof were needed, these two divinities highlight the significance of skiing in the lives and daily routines of the Scandinavian peoples. Invoking them was common during mountain journeys and winter hunts.
Robin Duvillard's book, cross-country skiing ... in brief
Robin has never been an athlete to hold his tongue; committed and courageous, he has demonstrated this on the field and trails he frequented for over a decade. This narrative serves as a moment of sharing not just with those who have followed him, but also with anyone interested in discovering what goes on behind the scenes in the life of a high-level athlete.
The book covers it all: training, injuries, nutrition, doctor visits, and even the inconvenient times when you’re subjected to anti-doping controls and really don’t feel like providing a urine sample. He tells his story with unavoidable honesty, the wisdom of maturity, and the vocabulary of someone who has been an active part of this system for years. With humor, and sometimes irony, he recounts his life as an athlete, sprinkling in juicy anecdotes in this poignant account centered around his sport— the sport that has both thrilled and marked him for life.
He tells his story with the support of “les passionnées de bouquins”, an editor rooted in the heart of his native region.
The publishing house
What better name for a publishing house than this one, “Les Passionnés de Bouquins,” which in itself perfectly encapsulates the story behind this family success that began in 1880, just a few hundred meters away from Old Lyon, the historic district of the capital of Gaul.
Originally a bookstore in the 19th century and then a publisher in the early 20th century, it is now, at the dawn of the 21st century, the oldest bookstore in Lyon. The De Uffredi family, who initiated this bookstore, embodies this passion for books that has been passed down through four generations to the grandson, Guillaume de Uffredi, who founded ‘Les Éditions les Passionnés de Bouquins’ in 2010, thereby extending the family’s literary legacy.
His signature is a publishing house rooted in its region that Guillaume ceaselessly values and promotes through the books he publishes. His selection of manuscripts speaks of local culture, cities, and key figures like Robin Duvillard or other personalities, contributing to the prominence of the magnificent Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Fiction, biographies, thrillers, children’s books, sports narratives—the publishing house spares no subject in endlessly prolonging the legacy of the Crozier de Uffredi bookstore, and bringing to life a quote that all book enthusiasts will undoubtedly confirm.
Reading is eating and drinking. The mind that does not read loses weight like the body that does not eat.
Robin Duvillard
in brief
Born in Isère in 1983, he is a French cross-country skier licensed to the Villard de Lans club, one of the high places of French Olympism.
A high-level athlete for more than 10 years, he participated in 2 Olympiads and won a bronze medal in Sochii with the French relay team and his teammates in the France team. the 2nd medal at the Olympics in cross-country skiing in history for the France team, an exceptional result, in a sport clearly dominated by the countries of the North where skiing is a way of life before being a sport.
This performance is also a founding act for the cross-country ski France team which has since won 3 new medals (2 in Pyeongchang in 2018 and 1 in Beijing in 2022)
Robin is now a consultant on Eurosport and entrepreneur by creating the company ZECAMP, a concept mixing tourism, catering and sport bein heard.
The disciplines of Nordic skiing
Ski jumping
Cross-country skiing
Biathlon
When you consider the challenges of making a name for oneself in a sport overwhelmingly dominated by Northern countries, it’s not surprising that everyone thought Moroccan Samir Azzimani was crazy when he embarked on his second Olympic quest in Pyeongchang in 2018. He was the first athlete in Olympic history to have participated in both Alpine skiing and cross-country skiing at the Olympics games.
Another story to discover here: The exhibition sport in all its states