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Having defeated the greatest biathlete of all time is not enough for Vincent Defrasne - he wants another Olympic title next year in Vancouver and says shooting well will be the key to getting it.

Nearly four years ago in Turin, the Frenchman beat five-times Olympic champion Ole Einar Bjorndalen of Norway to claim the Olympic pursuit title.

The 32-year-old soldier has achieved relatively little since then but, as the only Olympic champion in the squad France will send to British Columbia, he is already feeling the pressure.

"I don't tell myself that I'm the only Olympic champion in the squad but others tell me about it and it does bring a sense of responsibility," Defrasne said.

"That said, when I think about the Games, I think about Vancouver, not Turin. I'm preparing myself to win another title, not to defend the one I've got."

His victory over Bjorndalen, the most successful athlete of all time in this mixture of cross-country skiing and shooting, was a highlight of the 2006 Games, with the Frenchman making up for a slow start with flawless shooting before outsprinting the awe-inspiring Norwegian on the final straight.

"I surprised myself saying that I could not achieve anything stronger than that but then I turned it the other way round," Defrasne said. "What I experienced in Turin made me hungry for more of the same. I have a great challenge, which is to go through those unique moments once again."

The shooting part of the competition will decide victory in Vancouver, Defrasne predicted.

"Every venue has its characteristics, its secrets you must discover," he said. "Last year on the World Cup I found my bearings at the Olympic venue and I liked it.

"It's neither easy nor difficult," he added. "I think no big gaps will be made in the skiing parts. You will have 10 or so skiers in roughly the same time. What will make the difference will be the shooting.

"We have taken that into account in our preparations, training on shooting ranges similar to the one we'll have there."

Defrasne lives in the Jura mountains where he started cross-country skiing at the age of three. Like most French biathletes, he joined the army to benefit from perfect training conditions for his demanding sport.

A proud father of two little boys, Louison and Ulysse, the quiet, almost shy Defrasne knows he will have to prove himself on the World Cup circuit this season before being considered a serious contender for Olympic success in February.

"I don't think an athlete out of sorts on World Cup events has any chance of becoming an Olympic champion," he said.

"The difficult bit is you have to get good results on the World Cup while remaining fresh mentally and physically for the Olympics. The best way to do it is to shine on some World Cup events and skip a few.

"Every race is a goal," he added when asked about his objectives in Vancouver.

"I have five chances to get a medal and I'll prepare for each the best I can. I know that if everything goes well I can win, whatever the event."

There is one title he particularly covets and that is the relay, an event in which he took bronze at the last two Games.

"Yes, maybe the relay because it's such a special event," he said. "Becoming an Olympic relay champion must be fantastic and I haven't done that yet."

Reuters