Gabriel Dufresne followed the Beijing Olympics in the living room of the family chalet in Val Saint-Côme last winter.
Even though he was 15e world at the time, he failed to qualify for his first Olympics. For reasons of geographical representation and spatial contingency in the Athletes’ Village, nations must comply with quotas. In the case of freestyle skiing, tickets are shared between five disciplines.
Dufresne got the first two top 10 of his singles career in the last two selective competitions, but it was not enough to claim the final berth available to Canada.
“I had a period where I just wanted to get a little off the hook,” the 26-year-old skier said this week. I had a few weeks off without being on my skis. »
The Joliette athlete could not help but watch the Olympic events broadcast in the early morning in Canada.
“It wasn’t super nice because I was in the best shape ever physically, mentally and in my skiing. I was progressing, I was on a roll, I had just put on my best performances. […] When you see 30 guys at the Olympics, without the 15e in the world, you tell yourself that perhaps you deserved your place. »
Dufresne used this bad twist of fate to end the winter strong, having his best race ever in the final round in Megève, a sixth place in parallel. His teammate Mikaël Kingsbury, the winner, had publicly thanked him for helping him choose the right course before the decisive duel.
“I finished the season as the second Canadian behind Mikaël. Now it’s going to be to get as close to him as possible while continuing to improve on all the technical aspects. I know that if I do this, the results should continue to improve. »
Currently 15e in the cumulative standings after five starts, Dufresne is having his best start to the season. Eleventh in Ruka, a mountain that had never smiled on him, he took ninth place in Alpe d’Huez last month, a personal peak in singles.
“I’m happy with my skiing, the progress I see in training and my results. At the same time, I know that I am capable of reaching another level. »
The Val Saint-Côme World Cup, played in the evening on Friday (single) and Saturday (parallel) is the perfect opportunity to get there.
Dufresne knows the slope of the Acrobatic Center of Excellence “like the bottom of [sa] pocket”.
“I am from the Saint-Côme club and I remember when they were building the track in 2010, 2011. I trained there with the club at 14 years old. I then did it with the Quebec team and in competition. Since 2016, I have been training there regularly with the Canadian team. »
Contrary to Ruka, the specificities of the track newly baptized Alexandre Bilodeau particularly speak to him. “I’ve skied it so many times, in all conditions, that it no longer holds any secrets for me. »
Dufresne therefore sees the next two races in Lanaudière as “an opportunity to reach another level”. “It will perhaps allow me to go for the top 6 more regularly to also finally get on the podium for the first time, in the short term. »
Unlike the rest of the team, housed in condos near the mountain, the local favorite spends the week in the family chalet. This time, there is no question of following the competitions in the living room…
“Step on the gas”
Originally from Saint-Adèle, Laurianne Desmarais-Gilbert is another skier who knows the Val Saint-Côme slope perfectly, having often encountered it when she was part of the Quebec team.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
Laurianne Desmarais-Gilbert
She sees this familiarity as an advantage, but she warns: “We must not forget that Val Saint-Côme is one of the most difficult slopes in the world. Yes, I’m used to training on this track, but it’s still a big challenge. »
With only 12 World Cup starts, the 25-year-old athlete is at a less advanced stage of development than his teammate Dufresne, who has 59. His ambition for Friday’s and Saturday’s races: to reach the final phase, reserved for the first 16. “I knocked on the door twice with 18se positions last December,” she said.
To achieve this, she will have to “get out of her comfort zone,” observes the coach of the Canadian World Cup team, Michel Hamelin. “She is able to do it in training, she has to be able to do it in the World Cup. You will ask him the question; it is sure that she will have a smile on her face…”
In fact, Desmarais-Gilbert is aware of this excessive restraint when she wears a bib. His explanation is enlightening:
“As much in life as in skiing, I am someone who likes to do things well. I apply myself a lot, except that it can be a bit of a fault in skiing… I like to apply myself on each turn, but that means that I take too long to make them. I focus a little too much on technique when I should let go a little more and pick up speed. That’s what’s missing in my arsenal basically. Just put your foot on the gas for a bit…”
Will the adrenaline of a competition at home be the ingredient that will cause this burst of energy?
Women’s team in transition
The retirement of sisters Chloé and Justine Dufour-Lapointe has created a void in the Canadian women’s mogul team, especially as the promising Sofiane Gagnon, 12e at the Beijing Olympics, is taking a sabbatical to recharge its batteries.
Coach Michel Hamelin points out that some emerging athletes have taken another direction in recent years given the horizon towards the national team which seemed blocked. “The gap is a little bigger for girls than for guys,” said the technician. The new generation is part of the NextGen group and provincial teams. It will rather start to go up in the World Cup, with the new names, in three or four years, I would say. »
Valérie Gilbert, sister of Laurianne Desmarais-Gilbert, is another who retired last fall, accepting an offer to join the RCMP. Author of 30 World Cup starts, she ranked eighth at Tremblant in 2020.
“She’s my little sister in life, because she’s a year younger than me, but she’s my big sister in skiing, because she joined the Canadian team several years before me, underlined Laurianne who consults her often. She’s really the one I turn to every time when a workout isn’t going well. »