After the cancellation of the Zermatt-Cervinia events (Switzerland/Italy), the speed specialists, including Frenchman Alexis Pinturault, a new fan, begin their season at Beaver Creek in the United States from Friday to Sunday. The men’s Alpine Skiing World Cup began painfully two weeks ago in Gurgl in Austria with a slalom won by the Austrian Manuel Feller, after the cancellations of the opening giant slalom in Sölden (Austria) at the end of October, then Zermatt/Cervinia events at the beginning of November due to the weather.
The big cats must be released starting Friday in Colorado on the “Birds of prey” track. Swiss ski genius Marco Odermatt, overwhelming winner of the general classification in the spring, must carve his first curves of the winter. The downhill world champion is obviously one of the favorites for the two downhills and the super-G. But the crack from Nidwalden has not yet won a downhill on the World Cup circuit, notably because of the Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, winner of the last four races at Beaver Creek, including two ahead of Odermatt last year.
The most famous “classics” on the circuit
The French Alexis Pinturault is not expected on the podium of the two descents, but the skier from Courchevel is launching his new project in the Rockies, at the age of 32: he will now compete in all the descents and abandon the slalom. Pinturault has worn out his speed skis in the neighboring resort of Copper Mountain since November 10, he who had decided to skip Zermatt-Cervinia anyway. “We were able to take advantage of it, five days of downhill, five days of super-G, quite a few kilometers, it was good, quality in great conditions,” he told AFP.
“I made progress, yes, but it was easy to make. Now I have to be able to put them in place on the competition tracks,” noted the 2021 world number 1. Versatile since his debut in 2009, “Pintu” has already competed in nine World Cup descents, often to get benchmarks for the super-G that he loves (double world bronze medalist). But never with the objective, ultimately, of establishing itself in a sixth different discipline, the one which offers the most famous “classics” on the circuit (Kitzbühel, Wengen, Bormio).
“A top 20 would be good”
He had notably competed in a descent at Beaver Creek last winter, but was “limited, due to lack of training, I was not comfortable on my skis”. “Beaver Creek is a technical descent, very beautiful, a little underestimated in terms of reputation. You can have fun there, push the curves and you’re less afraid there than in Bormio or Kitzbühel”, notes -he. “A successful descent for me would be to score points (among the first 30), let’s say a top 20, that would be good.”
Pinturault has been accompanied since the spring by two new coaches: the Austrian Martin Sprenger, coach for eight years with his best compatriots in speed, and a former teammate from Pinturault’s younger years, Maxime Tissot. “Martin brought his eye, his expertise, but also his experience in security and his network of relationships with the stations, which helps with training slots. He certainly allowed me to progress more quickly,” notes the Frenchman. . Despite his status, Pinturault, without references or points in downhill, finds himself in competition with four other French people for three places at the start on Friday, in addition to the five teammates automatically selected. Tuesday, he set the ninth time in official training, and holds the rope for a selection.