Thibault Anselmet, ski mountaineering world champion
Ski mountaineering leader
Meet... The star of French ski mountaineeringIn 2021, in his very first year on the senior circuit, Thibault Anselmet ended the ski-mountaineering season (the competition side of ski touring) with a small globe in the vertical race and second place overall in the World Cup! In 2022, he confirmed his success with another second place overall. A frustrating second place for this exceptional champion, naturally gifted, passionate about his sport, hard-working and attentive to every detail. Thibault then clearly announced his goal: to win the "Gros Globe" in 2023, i.e. the overall ranking of the Ski Mountaineering World Cup. A goal achieved during this exceptional season , during which he also won the mixed relay World Champion title (with Emily Harrop) at the March 2023 Championships in Boí Taüll, Spain. These championships also saw Thibault take silver in the sprint!
Once you've reached the top, the hardest thing is to stay there. This is what Thibault Anselmet did in 2024, winning the Gros Globe again in 2024 plus the title in "sprint", an ultra spectacular discipline that will be at the 2026 Olympic Games.
At the World Championships in Switzerland in March 2025, Thibault once again showed the full extent of his talent, winning the mixed relay title with Emily Harrop after an exceptional final, then taking silver in the sprint.
2025: World champion in mixed relay + World runner-up in sprint
A family story
Like many local children, Thibault Anselmet took up skiing when he could barely walk. Not surprising, given that his father was a mountaineer himself. A member of the Ski Club at Bonneval sur Arc (a resort that has been awarded the "Terre d'Alpinisme" label by the UNESCO Committee), he took to the peaks before switching to ski mountaineering as a teenager. And it wasn't long before he was following in his father's footsteps. Between transmission and admiration: "He used to pick me up from boarding school on Wednesdays to end the day with dry climbs in our Haute Maurienne Vanoise resorts.
Ski mountaineering became much more than a discipline for the young man from Maurienne: "This sport is physically and mentally difficult, and you learn a lot about yourself. You discover yourself. It also lets you go wherever you want in the mountains, without being restricted to slopes or lifts."
Ski mountaineering runs in the Anselmet family. Thibault's brother Jérémy won silver in the U20 mixed relay at the 2023 World Championships.
A deep sense of freedom
Inspired at an early age by the likes of Kilian Jornet, benevolently advised by his father and supported by his local council and the Tourist Office, Thibault Anselmet progressed rapidly. And his talent and abilities are unmistakable: in 2021, the man who used to work as a carpenter will become one of the only Frenchmen in the discipline to turn professional, thanks to a contract with the Army of Champions and the support of his partners, including the Haute Maurienne Vanoise Tourist Office, which has been committed to Thibault since 2018.
At just 83 m tall, the skier from Bonneval sur Arc has broad shoulders: "Obviously, my ambitions are higher." The sprint and mixed relay will make their debut at the Milan Olympics in 2026: "That would clearly be a medium-term objective."
Follow Thibault Anselmet on Instagram!
To the moon
In 2023, Thibault Anselmet set himself the highest goal in his discipline: to win the overall World Cup in ski mountaineering. This goal was achieved through hard work and a steely resolve. In 2023, he's reached the moon: Thibault's impressions of his new "To the moon" video.
Ski touring culture
A leading figure in ski mountaineering in France, Thibault Anselmet is also indicative of a ski touring culture that is firmly rooted in the Haute Maurienne Vanoise resorts. Races and events are regularly organized in the resorts (Trace du Châtelard in Aussois, Traversée des Rois Mages in Valfréjus, montée de l'Eterlou in La Norma...), and special itineraries have been set up in Aussois, Val Cenis and Bessans.
Bessans and Bonneval sur Arc have even been awarded the " Land of Mountaineering " label by UNESCO, thanks in no small part to their ski touring culture.
Thibault Anselmet may still be young (he was born in 1997), but the next generation is already here: Anselme Damevin, from Val Cenis, is one of the best young Frenchmen, with a 5th place in the team competition at the 2025 World Championships and a third place at the 2025 Pierra Menta.
With such a density, Haute Maurienne Vanoise is now the land of France's ski mountaineering champions.
