Val d'Isère (France) (AFP)

Double downhill world champion Ilka Stuhec, who has returned from all injuries, has frequented the slopes of Val d'Isère from an early age and dreams of winning there again this weekend on the downhill or combined.

"I love Val d'Isère. From my 5 years I came every year to Tignes (the neighboring resort which shares the same ski area) with the ski club at the end of the season to have fun on skis and s "have fun, explains the Slovenian to AFP. Here it is paradise, you can ski every day on different tracks, not like at home in Maribor where the mountain is close but quite small."

Ilka Stuhec has already been able to prove her attachment to the station by winning it twice in December 2016 (downhill and combined), during her most prolific season (downhill and combined globe, 2nd in the general classification, world downhill champion ).

If the Slovenian did not win more, it is probably because of the many injuries that have marked her career, including a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee in the summer of 2017. But the one that was trained between 2011 and 2015 by his mother Darja, who raised her alone with her sister, has always stood up in particular to glean a second title of world champion in March 2019 in Are (Sweden).

A few weeks later, she damaged her left knee again in Crans Montana (Switzerland), but she avoided the operation and managed to return at the start of the season in November to Lake Louise (Canada).

"My knee is fine, during rehabilitation it went well, and the law, with which I had big problems, hurts me from time to time but is fine too," she reassures.

"I haven't been able to show my best face yet, I still have some work to do," she announced after a disappointing start to the season (no top 15 in four races).

Stuhec will not meet on its road the American queen Mikaela Shiffrin who decided to ignore Val d'Isère after a rare underperformance on the giant of Courchevel Tuesday (17th).

Like last week for the gentlemen (giant canceled due to the wind), the weekend in Val d'Isère is likely to be disrupted by weather conditions. The second training session was canceled on Friday (wind) and heavy snowfall (between 40 and 60 cm) is feared on Sunday, while the weather should be milder on Saturday.

Val d'Isère Ladies Alpine Skiing World Cup Program:

Saturday December 21: descent at 10:30 am

Sunday, December 22: combined, super-G at 11 a.m., slalom at 2 p.m.

© 2019 AFP