Do not take the photo too early. This Friday, an astonishing scene occurred in Kitzbühel, the scene of the prestigious World Cup downhill. Indeed, a first photo of the podium had already been taken around the leader's chair, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, surrounded by Johan Clarey and the Austrian Matthias Mayer, for a top3 of big arms accustomed to honors. And then with his bib number 43, starting among the "
without rank
" of the circuit (the best start in the first 20), the Frenchman Blaise Gienzendanner descended the Streif like never before, crossed the line in third position, and cut the whistle of the few hundred Austrian supporters admitted by the health protocol, by evacuating their champion out of the top 3.
At 30, the French climbed on his first podium for his 99th start, he who had never done better than 9th in a downhill. “
So not bad?
“, savored with irony the blond with the teasing look and the easy verb while presenting himself to the press, a bronze chamois in hand. “
It's a crazy thing, I'm extremely happy to do it here, it represents a lot of things. How did I do? Everyone asks me, but I haven't done anything more than usual. Skiing shows us that we must not let go even when we are in the hard
“, he appreciated.
The fourth in the Olympic super-G in 2018 was able to take advantage of a late break in the middle of the Austrian clouds, when snow had fallen the previous night on the station and the wind had forced the organizers to lower the start slightly.
At 41, Clarey still has some under the spatulas
Kilde was therefore ahead of Clarey by 0.42 and Giezendanner by 0.63. This is the third time that two Frenchmen have climbed the podium in the Kitzbühel downhill after Nicolas Burtin and Jean-Luc Crétier in 1998 (2nd and 3rd) and Valentin Giraud-Moine and Johan Clarey, already in 2017 (2nd and 3rd ). La Streif is Clarey's favorite track, where he now has three downhill podiums (3rd in 2017, 2nd last winter) and one in super-G (2nd in 2019). The colossus dominates every year with its sense of gliding along "
flat
” located halfway up the slope before leaving a few feathers in the last crossbar, a terrible overhang, which prevents it from imposing itself on the myth.
Time seems to have no hold on the tall, freckled brown, 41, who is once again pushing back his record as the oldest skier to stand on a World Cup podium.
Royal duel Odermatt-Kilde
Up front, a confident skier ruled the roost. Yet never better than 6th on the Kitzbühel descent, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde crunched his rivals with in particular the first two thirds of fabulous courses after starting like the others from a little lower because of the wind which was blowing on the Massif du Hahnenkamm. On cloud nine, the 29-year-old Norwegian signs his 6th victory of the season, the 3rd in downhill, on a new legend on the circuit after conquering Wengen last week. In 2020, the season of his big globe, he had won only one race. Unfortunately for him, he falls this winter on another extraterrestrial, the Swiss Marco Odermatt, 5th Friday (his best result here), who keeps 335 points ahead of the Norwegian in the general classification.After a slalom on Saturday synonymous with rest for them, the two strong men of winter will face off again on Sunday on a new descent.