The French ski team almost showed up at its Worlds at home, in Courchevel-Méribel (from February 6 to 19), with a zero point. The Blues only escape the white copy thanks to the inspiration of Clément Noël, unhappy in Chamonix, Saturday February 4, but victorious in the slalom in Schladming (Austria), ten days earlier. Many have come close: Alexis Pinturault, 3rd in the Beaver Creek super-G; the inoxidable Johan Clarey, 2nd in the descents of Val Gardena and Kitzbühel, his Austrian garden; Clément Noël, already him, 3rd in the slalom of Garmisch-Partenkirchen; and Romane Miradoli, 3rd in the Saint-Moritz super-G.
On the Savoyard tracks of Courchevel and Méribel, the Tricolores will however have difficulty in equaling the harvest of Cortina d’Ampezzo, two years ago, from where they left with five medals, including the two surprise titles of Mathieu Faivre ( giant and parallel slalom). This year, the goal is to do as well as the three medals of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, says Fabien Saguez. The president of the French Ski Federation recognizes “a difficult start to the season” but wants to believe in the “extra soul” that will animate the Blues at home during the fortnight.
Among women, the “generational gap” observed for several years does not seem to be resolving, especially in slalom, which is still looking for an heir to Perrine Pelen, world champion in 1985 and now general manager of the organizing committee of the Worlds. If Romane Miradoli seems to have returned to the fore in super-G after her serious knee injury in December 2020, which had kept her away from the slopes for a year, the hopes of Les Bleues will once again rest largely on the shoulders of the doyenne, Tessa Worley, still looking for her first podium this season.
The double giant slalom world champion (2013 and 2017) is one of those experienced athletes capable of sublimating themselves in “one-day races”. The Grand-Bornand skier can, as a giant, steal the show from Mikaela Shiffrin, insatiable this season and who is announced on the podium at each of the races that the 27-year-old American will compete in.
“‘Pintu’, don’t bury him”
On the men’s side, the French team was not spared by injuries (Matthieu Bailet, Thibaut Favrot and Victor Muffat-Jeandet). If the Blues pale in comparison to the armadas of Norway (Aleksander Kilde, Henrik Kristoffersen, Lucas Braathen, etc.) and Switzerland (Marco Odermatt, Loïc Meillard, Daniel Yule), who shared the victory in 24 of the 28 Cup events disputed world this winter, Alexis Pinturault and his consorts have a few cards to play.
The child from Courchevel, far from his status as world number 1 in 2021, can nurture some hopes in combined (addition of a super-G and a slalom), from Tuesday February 7, provided that he dispels doubts between the stakes tight. He will have a second chance to stand on the podium, two days later, in super-G, a discipline in which he regularly finishes in the Top 5 this season. “‘Pintu’, don’t bury him, he’s far from being on the street”, defends downhiller Luc Alphand, winner of the general classification of the World Cup in 1997. is a warrior, he can unlock the counter of the France team, “adds the consultant for France Télévisions.
Johan Clarey could then imitate him. Olympic downhill vice-champion in Beijing, the 42-year-old Tignard has the science of sliding and the mind to win. With a gold medal, the Poulidor of French skiing (silver at the 2019 Worlds) would conclude in apotheosis a career during which he will have broken many records for “oldest skier in…”. Aleksander Kilde, the Norwegian tightrope walker, does not see it that way, he who once again in Kitzbühel, in January, prevented Johan Clarey from winning his first victory on the circuit.
Among the technicians, the Blues hold with Clément Noël a Mozart of the slalom. Problem, the Vosges Olympic champion, with a revolutionary and widely copied style, is capable of the best as well as the worst. When he finishes a round, he is generally well placed, even first. Problem, he comes off the track half the time since the start of the season, as in Chamonix on February 4 (2nd round). But for Jean-Pierre Vidal, Olympic slalom champion in 2002, the Eclipse slope in Courchevel, facing north, therefore covered with very hard snow, is “a slope which corresponds to the skiing of Clément Noël”. “It’s clearly the best chance of a medal for the Blues,” says the consultant for Eurosport, who warns of the added pressure of the Worlds “at home”.
During this fortnight, Laura Gauché and Cyprien Sarrazin could create a surprise in the speed events (super-G and downhill). This would bring a breath of fresh air to championships which should not have much in store, as Marco Odermatt, the 25-year-old Swiss prodigy, and Mikaela Shiffrin, world numbers 1 continuously since the fall of 2021, are promised to the coronations.
