Wengen (Switzerland) (AFP)

In ambush behind the Norwegian leader Henrik Kristoffersen in the general classification of the Ski World Cup, Alexis Pinturault, again in great shape, can nourish great hopes in Wengen, with as of Friday the combined which he will be one of the favorites, and Sunday the slalom.

Three times winner of the small specialty globe, the Courchevel skier won the Bormio combined at the end of December, winning his ninth success in the specialty and his third victory of the season.

Still recovering last weekend in Adelboden where he finished 10th in the giant slalom and 8th in the slalom, "Pintu" believes that "it could have been worse. I did what I could, somehow in special circumstances ".

Since the start of the season, "there are a lot of athletes who have had their ups and downs. I hope I experienced as many lows as possible at the start of the season with little physical and health glitches"

Before the Wengen combined he won in 2013, the French assured him: "It is much better. Skiing is there, which allowed me to seek three victories in three different disciplines".

Pinturault, who cites among his main rivals the Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, 3rd in the general classification of the World Cup (14 points from the Frenchman and 92 from the leader Kristoffersen), estimates that it will be necessary Friday to "be at all costs after lowering".

This season, the combined is played in an inverted format, with the best times in the downhill starting first in the slalom.

"In other years we could be satisfied with being in the top 30 after the descent whereas there we have to give the descenders the least time. In Bormio (after a Super-G), the suspense quickly disappeared in the slalom, but here it can be quite different because I expect bigger gaps at the end of the descent, "he adds.

Haloed by a 3rd place in the giant of Adelboden, the other tricolor Victor Muffat-Jeandet arrives in Wengen on a field which has often smiled at him with a first World Cup podium in 2015 (2nd in the combined) and a unique success to date on the circuit, in 2018, still in the combined.

"If I start, it's to try to achieve a very good performance, therefore a podium," said the bronze medalist of the 2018 Olympic Games.

His 3rd place at Adelboden on Saturday, he "took advantage of it. The idea is to continue this momentum" but "we must not be too euphoric and respect certain fundamentals".

The mythical descent of the Lauberhorn is scheduled for Saturday. For its 90th anniversary, the organizers had the good taste to invite a large number of former winners, including Henri Duvillard, the last Frenchman to have won there ... in 1970.

Wengen (Switzerland) Men's World Cup stage program:

Friday January 17: Alpine combined, downhill at 10:30 a.m., slalom at 2:30 p.m.

Saturday January 18: descent at 12:30 p.m.

Sunday January 19: slalom, first run at 10:15 am, second round at 1:15 pm

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