He had already greatly disrupted the second training session of the men's downhill on Friday.
This time, the wind on Saturday caused the cancellation of the last rehearsal on the track which will host the flagship race of the Beijing Olympics.
The passage of the athletes on the slope, scheduled from 11 a.m. (4 a.m. in France), did not resist a wind of nearly 50 km/h, with gusts of up to 64 km/h at the top of "The Rock”, the route designed for speed events in China.
Only three downhillers took the start on Saturday: the Norwegian Aleksander Kilde, the Italian Christof Innerhofer and
Austrian Matthias Mayer.
But faced with the difficulties encountered by the three men, the organizers preferred not to take any risks on the eve of the race which should launch the race for alpine skiing medals in these Olympic Games.
“On the jumps, I covered 60 meters.
I was poised, thank God, loose, relieved, Kilde.
Good thing they canceled and decided to keep everyone safe for tomorrow.
»
The famous French selection
But for the time being, we are not heading towards a Pyeongchang-style scenario.
Four years ago in South Korea, three of the first four events were postponed due to wind.
The forecast in the Yanginq area, where skiers are gathered 90 km northwest of Beijing, is better for Sunday and suggests that the men's downhill (from 4 a.m. in France).
can be held as planned.
But competitors shouldn't escape the cold that reigns in this region, with a perceived temperature of -28°C at the top of the course.
The postponement of Saturday's training deprived the staff of the French team of a final opportunity to observe the form of its athletes.
If two of the four bibs dedicated to the tricolors were already awarded to Johan Clarey and Blaise Giezendanner after their podium in Kitzbühel in January, Matthieu Bailet and the last-minute selection Maxence Muzaton are the two other skiers selected for the descent, to the detriment of Nils Allègre .
The choice of the tricolor coaching is not only linked to the times of the trio in China, but also to their performance this season.
Read alsoWinter Olympics 2022: -24°C at the top, gusts of wind... how the cold and the wind shake up the Games
In addition to the downhillers, who fear that the race will turn into a lottery on this track where no competition has been contested, the biathletes also fear that the gusts will influence the result too much.
The first race, the mixed relay on Saturday (from 10 a.m. in France) where the Blues will try to retain their title, must logically be contested in the wind on the Zhangjiakou track.
And therefore not in the best shooting conditions.