posted Nov 13th, 2020 - The aftermath of the NSL Cloud Mondial 2020 continues with an update from France, where the national 8-way team was back in training this week.

The three female members of the French 8-way Open Class team, Christine Malnis, Sophia Pecout and Gaelle Giesen, were available for NSL Live Talk at the end of a training day in Pamiers. The team had a special permission from the government for the training camp, after the corona virus crisis had made it very difficult for the French national teams this year.

In fact, one of the team members, Sophia Pecout, tested positive at the very beginning of one of the scheduled training weeks, and the whole team had to go back into isolation without a single training jump.

Christine Malnis, Sophia Pecout and Gaelle Giesen explained that the currently running camp in Pamiers is the last one of the year. They said that the NSL Cloud Mondial was a very welcome opportunity to focus on competition performance for the first time this year. They are hoping that the next year will bring a release from the pandemic, as they have plans to train again in Florida and compete at the Shamrock Showdown 2021, which is once again scheduled for the month of March (18 - 21). The French delegation was already training in DeLand this year when the event had to be canceled and the French teams were ordered to return to France.

---

NSL Cloud Mondial 2020			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		22,21,M		5,C,H,J		7,3,6		10,E,9		18,L,B,F		D,20,15		17,P,A,1		8,Q,12		N,13,K,11		G,14,O,2		Total	Avg
1	Airspeed XP8	US	19	-1	22		23		18		25		20	-1	20	-1	16	-1	21		16	-1	200	20.0
2	France National 8-way	FR	18	-1	20	-1	21	-1	18		23	-1	22		23		17		20		16	-1	198	19.8

---

NSL Live Talk with Christine Malnis, Sophia Pecout, Gaelle Giesen - France and Airspeed XP8 at the NSL Cloud Mondial 2020

---

Christine Malnis, Sophia Pecout and Gaelle Giesen provided an update and offered insights after the team's own evaluation of the NSL Cloud Mondial. It was not only the French 8-way performance that was under the scrutiny of national coach Mathieu Bernier, who is now also an active team member.

He replaced Clementine Le Bohec, who is now married to NMP PCH HayaBusa member Dennis Praet, and did not continue with the national teams after the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2019.

Mathieu Bernier replaced Clementine Praet in the 8-way lineup, and Pamela Lissajoux took back her outside center slot in the 4-way Women team.

New member Gaelle Giesen is training and competing in 4-way and 8-way. She had replaced Pamela Lissajoux after the FAI Outdoor World Meet 2018 where Christine Malnis and Sophia Pecout won the 4-way Women gold medals with the previous lineup. Gaelle Giesen was the alternate in Australia.

They said that her 2018 team mate Pamela Lissajoux had not jumped from a plane since Round 10 in Australia, and they are glad to have her back in the lineup. The French 4-way Women team has now completed a total of 40 training jumps with the new lineup.

The 8-way team was much busier, as it was planned, and has a total of approx. 300 training jumps in the logbook. The French Formation Skydiving delegation is aiming at winning gold medals in 8-way and 4-way Women at the FAI Mondial 2020, which is currently scheduled for August 2021 in Tanay, Russia.

---

FAI Outdoor World Cup 2019			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		13,11,16		P,22,4		O,7,21		9,20,G		18,15,L		K,10,3		6,14,C		1,M,A,17		F,D,Q,8		2,5,E		Total	Avg
1	Tanay 8	RU	19		26		18		20		23		21	-1	20		24		20		16		207	20.7
2	France	FR	20		24		18		19	-1	21		22	-1	19		23		19		17		202	20.2
3	Paraclete XP8	US	21	-1	24	-1	16	-1	18		21		20	-2	19		22	-1	19		18		198	19.8

---

Russia - France - USA at the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2019

---

The results of the NSL Cloud Mondial are indicating that the two top teams are on their way to create a historic 8-way competition at the next world championship, where three teams could be as close as Airspeed XP8 and France were at the NSL Cloud Mondial. They were separated by only two points, which is even less than the 4-point difference in Eloy last year. Russia, world cup champion of 2019, will be the third top contender in this highly anticipated 8-way battle.

Christine Malnis, Sophia Pecout, Gaelle Giesen and their 8-way team mates had studied the Airspeed XP8 performance just as carefully as their own. They were especially impressed by the XP8 keying performance and its efficiency. Brian "BK" Krause and Kirk Verner, two of the most experienced 8-way experts in the history of the sport, are controlling the keying system for XP8, and the French 8-way team plan to improve their own efficiency in this area of performance.

Airspeed XP8 have turned the table at this point in time, at least in the duel with the French 8-way team. They were four points behind in October last year and won the NSL Cloud Mondial by two points. France has now taken the position of the challenger. The Russian 8-way team from Tanay plan to go through the same competition draw at their next training camp in December in Dubai.

Next step on the way to the next outdoor world meet would be the 8-way competition of the Shamrock Showdown, unless there will be a new NSL Cloud Mondial in January...