After three Olympic medals, eight world titles and 24 crystal globes, Mikaël Kingsbury could easily be forgiven for taking things lightly during a season without major challenges, such as the World Championships or the Olympic Games. It would be very difficult to know the character.
THE ” King moguls” launched this new season on the World Cup circuit with seven podiums, including four victories, in as many races. This weekend, he will try to add to his lead at the top of the rankings with his local stop, the Val-St-Côme World Cup.
How does he manage to stay motivated during a season without major challenges?
” I like what I do. It’s easy to motivate yourself in this time,” he said during the press conference presented at the foot of the Alexandre-Bilodeau piste, where the solo and mogul events will be contested in parallel, Friday. and Saturday.
“In terms of objectives, I don’t chase a result. I’ve already won here. Yes, I want to win again, but I no longer have this motivation to say that I want to win the World Championships or the Olympic Games: I have already done it. My motivation is to continue my progress and to be more consistent in skiing to my full potential. When I do, I know I’m practically untouchable. This is what allows me to stay at the top again. »
His desire to be the best never went away. But it is his new time management that allows him to say today that he will aim for another podium – or two, with the addition of duels – at the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games in 2026.
“The pandemic has shown me that spending time at home with my family can be beneficial too. I built my confidence by doing a lot of volume, but I need less to get back to where I want to be. I have an incredible team around me who made it easy for me to make the decision to come back. I don’t get bored of training non-stop in the summer. It’s the races that thrill me. »
“Maybe if there weren’t any parallel bumps [en 2026], that would tempt me a little less, continues the athlete. I always liked duels. Yes, I am a good solo skier, but you could say that since 2018, that has been my great strength. I haven’t lost many and I make it to the podium in almost every race. It gave me a little extra fire. I still remember the moment I learned it, on a golf course. I was really happy. It made me say that I can get through this [un autre cycle olympique]. »
He thought he could slow down even in the middle of the season, but the competitor in him is incapable of doing so.
“I thought I could target a few competitions and less fight for the globes, continue to do the races I want in order to be in full health at the Games. But I am incapable, because I know that I am still capable of winning all the races and fighting for the crystal globes. It’s the fun ! »
“He is simply incredible, full of talent,” said the head coach of the national team, Michel Hamelin. He still asks me what he should do to increase his level or he finds new aspects for himself, whether it’s stretching, new ways of adjusting his skis.
“Every start of the season, I’m not saying he doubts himself, but he doesn’t believe he’s still the best in the world. We film a lot of our opponents’ runs and we study them in depth, looking for their strengths, their weaknesses, their best runs. He always knows what to expect next. […] Sometimes it’s up to me to slow it down like coach ; to make him understand that he is three, eight, ten points ahead and that he does not need to push the machine too much. »
This mentality suits him very well again this season, as he is in first place with 580 points so far, 100 better than his closest rival, the Japanese Ikuma Horishima. The Swedes Filip Gravensfors (322) and the Olympic champion Walter Wallberg (308) follow.
Kingsbury is less alone on the circuit now: three other Canadians — Julien Viel (7e), Louis-David Chalifoux (8e) and Eliot Vaillancourt (10e) — are in the top 10, with Gabriel Dufresne “marauding” at 21e world ranking, some 80 points from the ten best in the world.
On the women’s side, Maia Schwinghammer, who just won her first career medal in the parallel moguls in Bakouriani, Georgia, leads the Canadian delegation to 10e world rank. Berkley Brown is in 17e place.
The competitions will begin with qualifying in the afternoon on Friday. The finals and super finals will be presented in the evening, a new feature since last year for the Quebec stage, which makes it possible to emulate the conditions during the Worlds and the Olympic Games.