- Big favorite of this “Koh-Lanta” season, Claude saw his hopes fly away with the terrible test of the posts.
- Despite this defeat, the candidate remains the winner of the hearts of many viewers, and forever marks the history of adventure games.
It will not be this time yet. Friday, after weeks of survival and fierce fighting, Claude bowed to the terrible post test, won by Naoil, the great champion of Koh-Lanta. A defeat that has driven millions of viewers present in front of their small screen, so much so that some fans of the candidate have launched prize pools to reward their champion (whom he has kindly refused).
Because if he does not win the title of adventurer, Claude remains definitively the winner of heart of this edition, and a hero who will forever mark the history of Koh-Lanta . In three participations, he won 17 events (the record), reached the final twice, three times the orientation (he even paid the luxury of helping his opponents), and three times the posts. The adventurer, however, found stronger than him ... But it may only be a postponement.
Have you recovered from your emotions and are you not too disappointed to have failed on the posts?
The show was shot a long time ago, it's been a year, and I was so happy with the broadcast, the feedback I had, I had to know that I wasn't winning so I was very at peace with everything it. I think I had enough perspective. I was perhaps more stressed to tell myself that I was going to disappoint a lot of people and my loved ones! My wife was the only one who knew about it, but it was only her and everyone else really believed it. I had more pressure compared to the people who had supported me and this fervor around me.
Do you think that given the situation, the confinement and the coronavirus, this season has taken a special place in the hearts of viewers?
Obviously, it might have been less grand if it had not been for this difficult period. People were at home, deprived of their freedom to move about, to be able to see themselves…. We really came back to their homes, we gave them a little joy, a smile, a lot of fun, and I think it made them want to follow us every week. It should also be added that the season was pretty good with a lot of twists and turns, I forgot almost half of it! It is a good cocktail and even if the period was sad, it fell well.
You don't win but you literally flew over this adventure. Were you extremely well prepared or were you surprised yourself by your journey?
I hadn't had any specific preparation, I had ridden Kilimanjaro two months before, I had participated in Ninja Warrior where I had done more climbing and climbing training, I had good endurance bases… I think I was good, more mature than in my previous participations in 2010 and 2012, and the configuration of the game also allowed me to be less ahead in the group and to be more focused on my own adventure. Adversity was present but it crumbled gradually and in the end I did not have too many competitors.
Internet users generally describe you as the perfect candidate, but do you have a little flaw anyway?
Yes because the perfect candidate would have made three participations and three victories! Of the three there is at least one that I should have won if it weren't for the bitterness and bitterness of former candidates, but that's part of the game and it's a factor that 'have to consider. Now, it is certain that I combine the biggest qualities in each field, I am perhaps the most complete player. But it makes me happy that people think that, and yes indeed, on the tests, on the strategy, on the survival, I have good arguments to make.
People made montages on social networks where they saw you as president, your name mobilized Twitter for hours every Friday, you were opened pots ... You did not sometimes have the feeling that it was perhaps going a little too far ?
People in this period needed to hang on to something and someone and I may have been that person because I fought on trials, I was sincere, right, I tried to defend my convictions ... When things go wrong and you see someone who manages to get out of it, you want to be with them, help them and motivate them! All these people began to support me, in previous seasons I had not been unanimous, this year it is so so I am very happy. It is very difficult on Koh-Lanta not to generate contradictions, this year I managed to do it and if there is one thing I am proud of it is that.
But suddenly is it all the more difficult to lose at this point in the game when everyone believes in you and sees you winning?
Yes because the more the game advances and the more hope grows, and you know the end of the adventure ... It's complicated, I wanted to shout at them "stop because you will be disappointed and I don't want to disappoint you! But you can't say anything. You have to let go, try to keep the positive every time, and that's the hardest part I think. You put yourself under pressure but in the end, as my wife said to me, "you don't disappoint anyone, what you did is great and keep that, people will be disappointed with your defeat but not by you".
So, above all, do you keep in mind your incredible performance over the whole adventure and the fact of having become the best candidate in terms of event victories?
When you don't win the title and you haven't done anything, there is nothing that can alleviate your frustration or disappointment. As I always said, all my adventures have been full, I never had a single regret when I left Koh-Lanta . I have done so many things, I have lived so much in comforts, I have gained so much immunity, I have been active on the camp ... I am completely peaceful and at peace.
To come back to this post test, how do you explain this defeat?
The main reason is that Naoil was better, she hung on, she remained focused and was at the end of herself. I felt her in difficulty by my side, I felt good and often in these cases an overflow of confidence can be harmful and can distract you. It may be I who lose but it may also be Naoil who beats me. I was so impatiently awaiting the last key, I had hung on to that and it was my mistake.
At the end of this test Naoil chose to face Inès during the final jury, justifying his choice by considering you "too strong, out of his category". Do you understand this decision now?
At that time it is not what I need to hear! I just want her to tell me "sorry Claude, I want to secure victory and for that I take Inès"! For me it was irrelevant but with hindsight I am convinced that she wanted to mitigate my disappointment. It may have been wrong or misunderstood by me but I do not blame her because she was right to make this choice, otherwise she would have been in trouble to win the final. But it is very complicated anyway to find a rational explanation to relieve the person you do not choose ... It is better sometimes to say nothing.
And what do you think of Naoil's career, this victory seems to you deserved?
I am very happy to have associated my adventure with his and that it is the winner. For me it represents what I like to see in a winner: a person who fought on the tests and who won them, who always had a smile, never a word higher than the other… She deserves more his victory.
Regarding special programs mixing heroes and newcomers, is it easier for seasoned candidates and therefore a little unfair for those who discover survival?
I think it was balanced in the sense that we obviously had a psychological advantage, but also a lot of disadvantages. They had the advantage of numbers and it was finally the new ones who triumphed!
Can a candidate like you, or Teheiura, who inspires so many fears, really win these special editions?
When you come back, if you missed the boat the first time, it's complicated to go get the others. Especially when you are a good candidate and you have proven that you are strong, because you do inspire fear. Someone like Teheuira, I think it's complicated if he is not in a configuration with athletes for example, where it is only played on merit. Same for me, since my first participation it's very complicated to win the title, but I can always annoy people and go to the end!
So you would be ready to retry the adventure?
If I still have to prove that I am one of the best, I will be honored to be able to do so. After, necessarily it will depend on age, year, my situation, my boss ... But the desire will always be present.
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