Ski: why Alexis Pinturault is better placed than ever to succeed Killy and Alphand

Does France finally have the successor of Jean-Claude Killy, crowned in 1967 and 1968, and Luc Alphand, in 1997?

Three times third and second in 2019 and 2020, Alexis Pinturault is in a good position to become the third Habs to win the Ski World Cup.

Barring bad shape or injury, the Courchevel skier, third in the Flachau (Austria) slalom this Sunday, has a very good chance of winning his first big Crystal Globe this season.

Explanations.

The defending champion dismissed

He had narrowly dominated the French after an explanation at the end amputated by the Covid-19.

Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde ruptured the cruciate ligament in his right knee during Super-G training.

Season ended for the one who won the Super-G and the downhill of Val Gardena this season.

With this forfeit of the second overall, Alexis Pinturault lost his main rival mid-season (19 races out of 37 contested).

“I was not very happy.

Yes, it is profitable for me, but it is the kind of things that I do not want to live, underlines Alexis Pinturault.

I want to fight with him in all races, that we give the best, and that in the end everything is played on a regular basis.

Well, it remains regular since injury is part of our sport, but it's always a shame that a big opponent is eliminated by an injury.

"

“Alexis showed today (Sunday) that he was not in the calculation by going on the attack to win the slalom instead of just trying to secure a place and a few points, analyzes the boss of the French men's team, David Chastan.

It would be a mistake to just think of managing.

"

A significant gap on the competition

With 778 points, the 29-year-old Frenchman has 218 units ahead of the second, Kilde.

The closest rival still in the running?

The young Swiss Marco Odermatt, far behind at 277 points from Alexis Pinturault, is today the most credible rival.

The Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen, still on the general podium at the end of the season since 2016, is unrecognizable with a seventh place for the moment.

“Alexis is the most complete skier on paper, says his father, Claude.

But even if he is ahead, he must not slack off.

A big Globe is played around 1,100, 1,200 points.

He's not there yet.

"" It's a comfortable position, says the person concerned.

But so far, we have done a lot more technique (

Editor's note: his specialty

) than speed, which will now follow with Kitzbühel (Austria) and Garmisch (Germany) the next few weeks and (we) should recover another descent canceled at Wengen (Switzerland) at the end of the season.

The ranking may still change.

"

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But this thick mattress of points will allow the French not to exhaust himself by multiplying the races.

He and his staff have not yet decided whether they will go to Garmisch-Partenkirchen to try to glean a few points on the Super-G on February 5, while the Alpine Ski Worlds will start a few days later in Cortina d ' Ampezzo (February 8-21).

"We feel less obliged to do certain tests," recognizes the coach of his structure, Fabien Munier.

Pinturault in great shape

On Sunday, the Frenchman stepped onto a World Cup podium for the 67th time in his career.

This season, Alexis Pinturault has already won four victories including three in giant, without ever having gone out once in fifteen races.

In short, the skier, who trains apart from the French group with his own staff, is a very solid leader, like his double victory in Adelboden a week ago.

“I feel pretty comfortable on the skis and I want to continue having fun,” he said on Sunday.

“I find him calm, but also dissatisfied,” smiles Fabien Munier.

Despite his good result in today's slalom (

Editor's note: Sunday

), he is trying to find out what he lacked in order to win.

He asks himself questions to try to improve himself, while remaining calm.

"

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“With his lead, he will try to win more races and therefore take a little more risk,” explains his father.

He must score all the points where he can.

Skiing is really bad.

And he too can get hurt… ”