At the end of the first round on the Chamonix slalom, Sunday February 4 in the morning, Daniel Yule was close to packing his bags, ready to plan for the rest of the season: “I was on the verge of returning at the hotel but I had this second chance. » The Swiss grasped the latter perfectly: 30th and last qualifier of the first round, Yule made a historic comeback to finally win ahead of his compatriot Loïc Meillard (2nd) and Clément Noël (3rd) at the end of the second round.
Leader after the first start, the Frenchman dreamed of a first victory in the Alpine Ski World Cup since his last success a year ago, in Schladming (Austria). But the skier from Val d’Isère bitterly noted, before starting last in the second round, that his competitors were losing a lot of time at the top of the Verte des Houches slope. Daniel Yule, who started first in this second round, did not feel this deterioration.
“I was very lucky. It was a long wait, but I did it. After the first round, I didn’t dream of victory at all. It’s absolutely incredible,” reacted the Swiss after the race, who claimed his seventh World Cup victory in slalom and his first of the winter.
In total, Yule moved up 29 places in the standings between the two rounds, beating the record previously held by Lucas Braathen and his 28 places gleaned during his victory at Wengen in January 2022. This is the first time in the history of the Ski World Cup that a skier ranked last at the end of the first round ends up winning.
Third podium but no victory for Christmas
Accustomed to winning in Kitzbühel (Austria) and Madonna di Campiglio (Italy), where he won two and three victories respectively, Daniel Yule won for the very first time in Chamonix and climbed onto the podium of the small globe of slalom, in 3rd place, behind Manuel Feller (1st) and Linus Strasser (2nd). Olympic slalom champion, Clément Noël, who scored his third podium of the winter, occupies 4th place in the specialty ranking.
“I didn’t do enough work in the second round, it didn’t come down to much (…) I didn’t manage to put everything in place but I’m still quite proud of the way I approached this second round. That’s why it frustrates me: a great race and it’s only third,” reacted the skier from Val-d’Isère to the microphone of La Chaîne L’Equipe. Steven Amiez, the other Frenchman qualified for the second round, took a good 9th place, confirming race after race the progress made since the start of winter.
There are still five slaloms remaining on the World Cup program. Next meeting in Bansko, Bulgaria, from February 10, where a giant will also be on the menu for the weekend.
The Chamonix slalom was the only race on the program this weekend, after the two descents initially scheduled for Friday and Saturday were canceled due to strong weather. Same fate for the women’s speed events which were to take place this weekend in Garmisch, Germany.