Frustrating weekend for Alexis Pinturault. After climbing a few gates during the second heat of the Chamonix slalom on Saturday, the Frenchman finished 13th in the parallel slalom this Sunday. It didn't take long for him to draw and criticize this discipline, which was introduced five years ago at the World Cup.
Pinturault got carried away on Twitter, denouncing a discipline made for the pleasure of spectators, at the expense of athletes: "Today I have rage, the impression of being fooled ... We, the athletes, taken for pawns of a spectacle and not actor of a sport! ". The Courchevel skier then evokes the lack of fairness in this discipline, where two skiers compete side by side.
“Since when in sport has luck got the better of performance? ". Inevitably, the track cannot be perfectly even between the two skiers, due to the ski tracks, snow or even the location of the gates. Problem, this event brings points in the general classification of the World Cup. So participating is almost necessary to hope to win the Big Crystal Globe.
Today I have the rage, the impression of being fooled ... we athletes taken for pawns of a show and not actor of a sport! Since when in sport has luck got the better of performance? And how dangerous is the format? pic.twitter.com/Jg5mvIUn33
- Alexis Pinturault (@AlexPinturault) February 9, 2020"Today, I can't do anything about it, I have the feeling of being robbed," Pinturault regretted after the race. It is really very frustrating this discipline. It is painful. Several athletes found themselves eliminated like me while they were among the fastest, what is the meaning of that? It's extremely annoying, you feel helpless ”
Discipline is not unanimous
To support his remarks, he points to the imbalance of victories between the two tracks. In the 8th final, the eight athletes on the blue course won their duel against those on the red, like Pinturault. In total, on the duels disputed in a heat, the skiers of the blue track won thirteen times against five for those of the red.
Since the introduction of the parallel slalom, Alexis Pinturault has not been a defender of the format. The discipline is not unanimous despite its modern and spectacular aspect. Many, like the French, consider it to be too inequitable. “It starts from an idea that is not necessarily bad. We want to adapt the face-to-face that exists in other sports, but it does not suit ours, said the 28-year-old Tricolore. We practice an outdoor sport. Snow never has the same density within a few meters, so it's impossible to have homogeneity between two tracks. The skier on the wrong track, he is disabled when he did not start. "