“The miracle did not happen”: French skiing, which won only two medals at the World Cup

The last hopes were dashed when the Greek AJ Ginnis rose to the podium, happy to write the history of his sport and his country. The penultimate competitor who crossed the gates of this second round of world slalom, without batting an eyelid, took responsibility for disappointing the audience and dethroned Clément Noël’s virtual bronze medal, finally 4th out of the 300th.

All French skiers have joined in the disappointment of the Beijing Olympic champion. If the sun brazenly illuminated the skies of Courchevel and Méribel during these two weeks, the Blues did not shine.

The goal set by the president of the French Ski Federation (FFS), Fabien Sages, was three medals? The counter was stuck at two for ten days. And only thanks to one man, Alexis Pinturo, who won the gold in the combined and bronze super-G in the snow of his childhood resort.

France finished 6th in the medal standings ahead of Switzerland, Norway, the US, Canada and even Italy. And if we take the total number of podiums as the main criterion, then the Blues are like Germany and are only one point ahead of the Greeks. Not enough to celebrate the World Cup at home, two years after he offered five medals in Cortina, and one year after the closing of the Beijing Olympics with the charm of every metal.

“There were no miracles”

“This is in line with our current level in the global hierarchy,” said National Technical Director Pierre Minieri. We arrived not as a favorite, but with three or four trump cards. Alexis did very well, Clement is useless and Tessa Worley (fell in the second run of the giant when she was in a good position for a medal) did the job. The miracle did not happen, the level is what it is at the moment. »

Or rather average, as from the beginning of the season. The Blues have reached the podium six times at the World Championships, and only Clement Noel won in Schladming in January. A little light to hope to overthrow all the houses.

The pool was weak and suffered from a poor performance by Olympic downhill vice-champion Johan Clari, who finished 23rd at Savoy, and Romana Miradoli, who missed her World Championships. Add to that an outrageous Sunday by Clement Noël, Worley’s mistake, Marie Lamure’s 4th place in parallel slalom, world champion Mathieu Favre who disappeared from the radar and got injured upstream, and you have the only Pinturo running the store. “We knew that this winter we had little problems,” says Fabien Sages.

And for the next ones? A very good question, albeit a little disturbing. Clary will retire at the end of the season. Worley may follow her, especially since she has already announced that she will not compete in the Milan-Cortina Olympics in 2026. A very hard blow for the Blues as the two-time world champion has been the only French woman to have an individual podium at the World Championships three times out of six since 2011. As for Pinturo, he “very likely” raced his last slalom on Sunday at the majors to focus more on speed.

Norway cited as an example

“We have to create a team for Saalbach. (site of the 2025 World Cup in Austria), so we opened our selection here,” describes Fabien Sages, quoting Marie Lamure, Steven Amies or World Junior Champion Alban Elesi-Cannaferina. “We saw young people pointing with the tip of their nose,” his DTN continues. Getting into the top 15 or top 30 is something in skiing, even if there are no podiums. There is work to be done to be more regular and have more trump cards. »

How to do? The tricolor compass points north. If France refuses to compare itself to Switzerland or Austria, countries where alpine skiing dominates, then Norway, with its nine medals for two titles, sets an example.

“She is inspiring, but like in many sports such as biathlon,” explains Pierre Minieri, who arrived in October to his post. Without copying the systems, we have to see how it goes. I think a little study trip to Norway will do us good. To maybe find inspiration so that the balance is no longer kept solely on one person.