Gaillard had his first international appearance at the Nordic Junior World Championships in 2000 in Štrbské Pleso . There, however, he could not place himself in the front field and took 50th place over the classic 30 kilometers and 54th place over the 10 kilometers freestyle . In the 2001/02 season he started for the first time in the cross-country skiing world cup . At the World Cup in Nové Město , he managed to get his first World Cup points with 24th place over the 10 kilometers of freestyle. In the following years he mostly placed far outside of the World Cup points. Nevertheless he was nominated for the Nordic World Ski Championships 2005 in Oberstdorf . When his compatriot Vincent Vittoz won in the pursuit competition, he finished 47th. He ended the classic 50-kilometer race early.
It was not until the 2005/06 season that Gaillard managed to continuously achieve results among the top 30 athletes. He achieved his best result of the season with 14th place over 15 kilometers in Davos . These good results secured him a place in the French national team at the 2006 Winter Olympics . Shortly before the games, he was found to have high hemoglobin levels during a training check-up and he was given a five-day ban. In Turin he was able to cause a surprise with eleventh place over the 50 kilometers of freestyle. Even over the classic 15 kilometers he was able to record a good result with 25th place. In the following season he fought for his first top ten result in a World Cup competition in Rybinsk, Russia , finishing fifth in the 30 km freestyle. Gaillard was able to confirm this good result with seventh place over 50 kilometers classic at the Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 in Sapporo . Over the 15 kilometer freestyle, he finished 20th and in the pursuit competition 35th place. At the end of the 2006/07 season he was able to book 16th place in the distance world cup and 32nd place in the overall world cup due to three placements in the top ten in world cup competitions.
In February 2008, after a rather mixed season, Gaillard surprisingly won the 11.5 kilometer freestyle race in Liberec, Czech Republic, and was thus able to achieve his first World Cup victory. At the beginning of the 2008/09 season he took third place in La Clusaz with the relay. At the Tour de Ski 2008/09 , he reached third place in the Prague sprint . He finished the tour in sixth place overall. This was followed by second places in the 30 km pursuit race in Whistler and in the 15 km mass start race in Rybinsk . His best placings at the Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec were 14th place over 15 km classic, ninth place with the relay and fifth place in the team sprint. Finally, he finished the season in seventh place in the overall World Cup standings and tenth place in the distance standings.
At the Tour de Ski 2009/10 , Gaillard reached fifth place in the overall standings after a strong mountain run on the final day. His best results at the following Winter Olympics in Vancouver were 19th place in the 50 km mass start race and fourth place in the relay. He finished the Tour de Ski 2010/11 with sixth place overall. In February 2011, he brought in Rybinsk with second place in Rybinsk, 20 km pursuit race his next podium finish in the World Cup. At the Nordic World Ski Championships in Oslo in 2011 , he achieved 23rd place in the 30 km pursuit race, 11th place in the relay and eighth place in the team sprint. He finished the season in ninth place in the overall World Cup ranking and eighth in the distance ranking. He finished the Tour de Ski 2012/13 and 2013/14 in 26th and 11th place overall. At the Nordic World Ski Championships in 2013 in Val di Fiemme , he finished tenth in the skiathlon and sixth in the team sprint. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi , he achieved sixth place in the skiathlon and, with third place in the relay, won his first medal in an international cross-country skiing competition.
At the beginning of the 2014/15 season, Gaillard finished 19th at the Nordic Opening in Lillehammer . At the 2015 Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun , he won bronze in the relay. In the 2015/16 season he came in 21st place in the 2016 Tour de Ski and 15th in the Ski Tour Canada . His best individual result in the World Cup of the season was fifth in the 30 km freestyle in Davos . In January 2016 he won the La Foulée Blanche in the Worldloppet Cup . He finished the season in 20th place in the overall World Cup and 19th in the Distance World Cup. After finishing 61st in the World Cup mini-tour in Lillehammer at the beginning of the 2016/17 season, he finished third with the relay in La Clusaz . At the Tour de Ski 2016/17 he came 15th. In February 2017 he took second place in the Transjurassienne over 50 km freestyle. At the season highlight, the Nordic World Ski Championships 2017 in Lahti , he finished 26th in the skiathlon, 21st in the 50 km mass start race and seventh in the relay. At the end of the season he came in 21st place in the World Cup finals in Québec and reached 24th place in the overall World Cup and 21st place in the Distance World Cup. At the start of the 2017/18 season, he finished 30th in the Ruka Triple and seventh in the Tour de Ski 2017/18 . At the season highlight, the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang , he won the bronze medal with the relay. At the end of the season he came in 30th place at the World Cup finals in Falun and reached 21st place in the overall World Cup.
At the beginning of the following season, Gaillard took second place in the final stage of the Lillehammer Triple, which he finished in 29th place. In the further course of the season he came in 15th place in the Tour de Ski 2018/19 and in 22nd place in the World Cup finals in Québec and thus achieved 29th place in the overall World Cup. At the Nordic World Ski Championships 2019 in Seefeld in Tyrol , he finished 35th in the skiathlon . He finished the Tour de Ski 2019/20 in 22nd place.
Participation in World Championships and Olympic Winter Games
Olympic games
2006 Turin : 11th place 50 km freestyle mass start, 23rd place 15 km classic
2010 Vancouver : 4th place relay, 19th place 50 km classic mass start, 30th place 30 km skiathlon, 32nd place 15 km freestyle
2014 Sochi : 3rd place relay, 6th place 30 km skiathlon, 10th place team sprint classic, 21st place 15 km classic, 35th place 50 km freestyle mass start
2018 Pyeongchang : 3rd place relay, 18th place 50 km classic mass start, 23rd place 15 km freestyle, 28th place 30 km skiathlon
2007 Sapporo : 5th place in relay, 7th place 50 km classic mass start, 20th place 15 km freestyle, 35th place 30 km skiathlon
2009 Liberec : 5th place team sprint classic, 9th place relay, 14th place 15 km classic, 22nd place 50 km freestyle mass start, 54th place 30 km skiathlon
2011 Oslo : 8th place team sprint classic, 11th place relay, 23rd place 30 km skiathlon
2013 Val di Fiemme : 6th place team sprint freestyle, 10th place 30 km skiathlon
2015 Falun : 3rd place in relay, 9th place 30 km skiathlon, 30th place 15 km freestyle
2017 Lahti : 7th place relay, 21st place 50 km freestyle mass start, 26th place 30 km skiathlon
France
Liberec
