Jean-Baptiste Grange, world slalom champion in 2011 and 2015, is retiring.
"The slalom rider from Valloire has decided, after fifteen years with the French alpine ski team, to hang up the skis," the French Ski Federation said in a statement on Friday.
The 36-year-old Savoyard subsequently announced it on his social networks.
“After 17 years of the World Cup, it is time for me to close this beautiful chapter in my life and hang up the skis at the end of the season,” he wrote.
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A post shared by Jean-baptiste Grange (@jbgrange)
18 World Cup podiums
From his fluid and elegant ski, which was a benchmark for a long time, he has inscribed his name on the list of the most beautiful classics, in particular Wengen, Kitzbühel or Schladming.
And the figures speak for him: Jean-Baptiste Grange has 18 World Cup podiums, including 9 victories and in particular three in the same year during the 2008 season.
In 2009, he won the specialty crystal globe.
And, after making a name for himself by winning a bronze medal at the 2007 World Cup, he became the only French double world champion in the discipline.
His career was also marked by numerous injuries, to the knees (3 times), to the back and to the shoulder.
The decision of the skier from Valloire comes a little over a month after that of his accomplice Julien Lizeroux.
A real page is turning for French skiing.
