Alpine Skiing World Championships: with two medals, Alexis Pinturault has made a comeback

Europe 1 with AFP 10:47 p.m., February 09, 2023

Alexis Pinturault is back at the highest level.

The French skier has already succeeded in his World Ski Championships at home with his two medals won in the Super-G and in the combined.

"It's great. Being able to do it at home as well, I could hardly have dreamed of better", appreciates the skier in a press conference.

After the combined title on Tuesday, the skier from Courchevel won, still at home on the Eclipse slope, the bronze medal in the super-G on Thursday.

Enough to fill his trophy cabinet a little more, now stocked with three Olympic medals and seven individual world medals.

With such a pedigree and his 75 podiums in the World Cup for twelve years, the titles could pass for formalities.

But "Pintu" has come a long way after two catastrophic seasons without a win since his big crystal globe in March 2021. "To be honest, I didn't expect such results here. I had this dream of shining at home, but there was such a difference between my dream and reality, that I was very far from setting these ambitions for myself," said the champion, who will turn 32 next month.

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'No longer able to win'

How did the blonde with steely blue eyes, who broke down in tears in front of the media at the Beijing Olympics in 2022 (zero medals), bounce back?

It is first of all a story of deep resources, in this perfectionist.

"Even if this year I was not where I wanted to be, I still had a certain confidence in myself, to tell myself that I was still capable of skiing fast, which does not prevent having doubts. The confidence deep inside me to be able to ski with the best was always there."

On the surface, however, the insurance mask has cracked.

"He told me before the Worlds that he no longer felt capable of winning, says his wife and press officer Romane Pinturault. He told me "something has changed deep inside me". Yes, he is not no longer able to handle this daily pressure on himself. He didn't know how he was going to react emotionally, he was scared, and in fact it was natural, lighter than expected."

"I never doubted Alexis", launches for his part his giantist teammate Thibaut Favrot, supporter at the Worlds after ending his season due to two operations (knee and hip).

“He is someone I admire, my childhood idol, I knew he would be able to bounce back. He went through periods of doubt. Since his big globe he is in reconstruction, he is looking for solutions. He just proved today that he is a huge champion."

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"Full of Confidence"

After his title on Tuesday, "Pintu" did not touch his skis on Wednesday.

In preparation for the super-G, he contented himself with rest and a few games of Brändi Dog, a Swiss board game introduced to him by his friend Loïc Meillard.

He now has four days of rest ahead of him before his second part of the World Championships where he can aim for a historic harvest: parallel qualifications on Tuesday February 14, before the main draw on February 15, then the giant on February 17 and finally the slalom on February. Sunday 19.

"He has powerful resources deep inside him. In two races he has built up his confidence and this will surely be a key to performance in parallel and in giants", judges Favrot.

Pinturault also excels at home because the track is "made for him", adds his teammate.

"In the shadows, frozen, it is his favorite playground."

The local hero also takes advantage of the public, although quite wise: "It's been a year that I've only wanted to perform here, to fully experience these World Championships. 'soul,' he concludes, smiling.