Last year Chris Hughton, manager of Championship team Brighton and Hove Albion, decided his first summer in charge would see a change to their traditional pre-season training.
Instead of heading to typical venues such as La Manga or Tenerife, Brighton chose to base themselves at altitude in the French ski resort of Tignes.
Training at altitude has proven fitness benefits. The lower oxygen concentration makes relatively low-intensity training much harder. The body quickly adapts, producing more red blood cells, improved circulation and endurance levels.
Various sports teams have trained in Tignes including Gloucester and Toulon rugby teams, as well as the French national football team, but Brighton were the first British football team to go there.
“The idea was first brought to me by the head of our medical team, Adam Brett,” Hughton said. “He’d been there with Gloucester and knew the facilities were excellent.”
The most important aspect for a pre-season camp is a high-quality pitch, but when Brighton sent someone to inspect the facilities, there was still snow on the ground!
However, the club were reassured by the fact that seven-time Ligue 1 winners Olympique Lyonnais had reserved the facilities for the week before Brighton.
“They actually cancelled in the end as they had a big offer to go to the States,” said Hughton, “but that ended up working for us as the pitch was in perfect condition.”
“It’s a hard week of training,” Hughton added. “Some days the players had three sessions, so you always see an improvement in fitness levels.”
Adam Brett noticed that the players only took a couple of days to acclimatise, but that they “felt significant benefits” when they played back at sea level at the end of the week.
Also important to Hughton were the team-bonding activities on offer. However, the players were banned from activities that presented a risk of injury, so while they enjoyed watching mountain bikers coming down the tracks, they couldn’t take part.
The players were let off the leash one afternoon when they went down to Bourg St Maurice for a rafting session on the Isère river.
Club captain Iñigo Calderón was impressed with Tignes. The Spanish defender took the funicular to the Grande Motte glacier at 3456m and loved the spectacular view, declaring the trip “the best pre-season I’ve experienced.”
Overall the trip was a huge success for Brighton; they went on to a 21-game unbeaten run at the start of the season.
“The training camp definitely helped our start to the season,” said Hughton. “Tignes is an incredible environment. You’re training in lovely sunny weather, with the backdrop of huge mountains.”
Both David Ginola and Eric Cantona have enjoyed ski holidays since their retirement. Would Hughton return for some skiing?
“Not with my knees, I’m afraid,” he admitted, “but it’s a wonderful setting for a glass of wine in the evening!”
