Almost four years have passed since Samuel Giguère’s last appearance in the four-man bobsleigh World Cup. The Quebecer resumed competition this weekend with the team of pilot Christopher Spring who placed 13e in Innsbruck, Austria.
The team could also count on the services of Mike Evelyn and Cody Sorensen for this first World Cup on the calendar. It was a comeback not only for Giguère, but also for Sorensen, who had retired from sport after the Sochi Olympics. Christopher Spring also took a year off last year.
The Maple Leaf Quartet posted a time of 1 min 42.34 s on Sunday, 1.03 seconds faster than the German team led by gold medalist Francesco Friedrich. Germany’s other side tied for second with Great Britain, 0.26 seconds from the win.
“For a first race this year, we wanted to do better. We were aiming for a top 10, but we knew that it was not going to be easy because we were starting from far away and we knew that the ice was going to be less beautiful, ”said Samuel Giguère, whose last four-man bobsleigh event. in the World Cup was that of Altenberg, in January 2018.
“We are a little disappointed to have finished thirteenth. We could have done better, especially at the start. I think it’s normal too because it was our first race together. We are still enthusiastic about the future. ”
Also in action, Canadians Justin Kripps, Ryan Sommer, Cam Stones and Benjamin Coackwell placed sixth (+0.61 seconds).
Find your bearings
Samuel Giguère had torn the Achilles tendon in his left leg in 2019, which had kept him away for a whole season. The former professional football player then won a silver medal in two-man bobsleigh at the Sigulda World Cup in February 2020, then the pandemic came to stop his momentum.
Last year, he preferred to stay home due to COVID-19, but continued to train regardless.
Even if he had already done a few races alongside Christopher Spring since his debut in bobsleigh, in 2012, the synchronism remains to be worked on with his other teammates. Something that should soon be replaced according to Giguère.
“We did a lot of practice runs and pushes in Calgary in September. Except that in competition, it’s different and you can’t really replicate that in training. We did a first race and every week we will continue to improve. It’s really a progression throughout the season and we hope to be ready when the Olympics come. ”
Each event on the World Cup calendar will allow the different teams to accumulate points in the Olympic qualification process. A stake which is felt in the international circuit, without however adding nervousness to the Quebecer.
“It seems it’s an Olympic year. Especially since each race will be used to determine the start of the Games. That’s why they’re all important, but I don’t think it’s an additional stress. At least not for me. ”
The next World Cup will take place this weekend, still in Innsbruck.
The bobsleigh qualification process will close on January 16 and will take into account the seven best cumulative results in the World Cup, European Cup and Nor-Am Cup. The different nations will then know how many places will be allocated to them for each event in Beijing. In four-man bobsleigh, a country could qualify up to three teams.