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Loïc Meillard is still looking for his top form this winter. Will the knot burst in the Schladming giant slalom of all places?
The season is not yet going to Loïc Meillard’s liking. Although six rankings in the top 10 are decent, the man from Neuchâtel has never been on the podium this winter. A 5th place in the slalom in Wengen is the highest of feelings for the 27-year-old.
Meillard showed last winter that he can do better. At that time he climbed the podium five times: in Val d’Isère (slalom), Bormio (super-G) and Adelboden (giant slalom) he came third. In Wengen he finished 2nd. Meillard celebrated his greatest World Cup success in the Schladming giant slalom: he triumphed ahead of compatriot Gino Caviezel.
The fact that I won there last year won’t necessarily make me faster.
On Tuesday we will return to the scene of the coup. Meillard doesn’t want to waste a lot of time thinking about last year. “I will definitely watch it again to see what I did well. But it’s a new year. Everyone who starts wants to win. The fact that I won there last year won’t make me any faster.”
No reason to panic
The lack of podium places this winter is not a headache for Meillard. Opposite SDA Keystone he analyzes soberly: “Unfortunately it hasn’t worked out this season, a few times only little things were missing. But that’s sport. We have to keep working so that this changes.”
What’s more worrying for Meillard is the problem with his ski bindings. This recently dissolved in Sölden and then also in Adelboden. «At first it was very difficult to come to terms with it. Things are getting better now. Things like that can just happen. And there is nothing that I personally could do differently. What’s difficult to accept is that it only happened in two races and never in training.”
Patience is required when binding skis
Meillard is in close contact with those responsible at the supplier, but “it takes more time to know exactly what it is about”. Nevertheless, the Neuchâtel native’s focus is on confidence: “I’ve now covered a lot of kilometers in training. That helped to regain trust.”
Trust can’t hurt when Meillard races down the Planai under floodlights on Tuesday evening. Maybe back to the front again.