A thick blond hair, a hallucinated look that overcomes his big mustache and a frank smile illuminated by the teeth of happiness.

Manuel Feller has a "face" and, despite a physique that's not really cut out, you shouldn't be fooled by appearances.

The boards at his feet, the 30-year-old Austrian rushes like crazy, "it or it breaks" way.

New illustration Sunday in Kitzbühel: best time of the first round of the slalom, he straddled the second route, suffocated by the pressure of a race disputed a few kilometers from home.

Giant and talented slalomer, the child of Fieberbrunn (Tyrol) has 18 podiums including two World Cup victories, a world silver medal in 2017, and a status of N.2 of the circuit in slalom last year, despite a career cut short by back problems, which earned him the removal of several intervertebral discs.

Austrian Manuel Feller, fastest time in the first round of the Kitzbühel slalom, straddled the second course on January 22, 2023 © Joe Klamar / AFP

Reggae, his "love"

Feller is not just about numbers, he whose unfiltered statements regularly make the headlines in Austria, where skiers are kings, but also under daily pressure.

Austrian Manuel Feller makes a face after the Madonna di Campiglio slalom, in Italy, on December 22, 2022 © Tiziana FABI / AFP

"I have a free spirit, he sums up to AFP. It's a big problem, when I show little things from my personal life on social networks, outside of skiing, I get a ton of criticism. . People think I don't care about skiing. But I'm already focused on it six days a week. So when I have free time or a day off, leave me alone with skiing!"

To unplug and not "go crazy", Feller waddles to the rhythm of reggae.

In summer, he scours festivals in Germany and Austria and sometimes crosses the Atlantic.

"I've already been to Jamaica five times, where I made a lot of friends, before the Covid. I go to Kingston to local concerts, it's incredible to experience. Reggae is my great love “, he summarizes.

"I grew up in a village of 5,000 inhabitants, and I don't know why we had ten + sound systems +, it was huge. Around 15, the + vibe + reggae took me. I didn't understand anything about lyrics at the start, in Anglo-Jamaican patois, I just let myself be carried away by the flow."

"Then I started to understand what they were singing, and it had an impact on my personality, the way I want to live my life, to behave with others. However, I can't call myself a rasta, it would be disrespectful, he asserts, suddenly serious. It's not a story of dreads. To be Rastafarian is to be vegan, to pray, not to touch alcohol or cigarettes, it's a strict culture . I'm into music yes, but those are two separate things."

Austrian Manuel Feller took second place in the giant slalom in Val-d'Isère, France, on December 10, 2022. © Jeff PACHOUD / AFP

Fishing in the Jura

This father of two is one of the favorites in the slalom and night giant of Schladming on Tuesday and Wednesday, the resort where the crazy atmosphere fits perfectly with his electrifying skiing character.

But once sated with the fury of the public, "Mani", a big fish in the small pond of world skiing, aspires to the calm of a good fishing trip.

"You have great lakes in France. I already took a trip with my girlfriend in a van through Europe, at night I sometimes went fishing, and I caught a 12 kg carp in Vouglans (Jura) . I can't wait to be retired, I will go to France for two months to fish!"

If he likes to cook trout, his "favorite fish", the Austrian always releases carp.

"It's impossible for me to kill them," he confesses.

At Lac du Praz de Courchevel, a few meters from the finish area of ​​the Worlds in two weeks, it is forbidden to tease minnows in winter.

Feller will have to be content with fishing for medals.

© 2023 AFP