If the Games had taken place a year ago, the French team would have arrived as the big favorite, especially among men. In any case, this is the opinion of a person well placed to know: David Chastan, the director of the French men’s alpine ski team. “It’s quite open, but we are much less favorites than a year ago at the Worlds in Cortina (Italy), where we were on all the podiums before approaching these World Championships”warns the boss of the Blues.
Like everyone else, David Chastan is suspicious of one man in particular: “The big favorite is Switzerland with Marco Odermatt. Then, in slalom, there are also customers in all the delegations.” If the winter of the French leaders (Pinturault, Noël, Faivre…) is not as brilliant as expected, the French technician wants to be confident all the same: “We will arrive with the necessary to give everything and have no regrets. And if we do, chances are we’ll be rewarded.”. Serious chances, even.
First, not being favorites is an advantage for the French. “We won’t have that pressure, we’ll be there to create a surprise, which often happens at the Games”, promises Chastan. And for that, the French men’s team has serious assets with Alexis Pinturault (winner of the big crystal globe last season), Clément Noël (fastest skier in the world on slalom, provided he completes his runs), and Mathieu Faivre (reigning giant slalom world champion).
“We have one of the best men’s teams in the world, with chances of medals and victories in all disciplines for ten years.”
Antoine Deneriazat franceinfo
“In Pyeongchang (2018), the men’s team was already strong and dense. The French alpine ski team has been very competitive for ten years”, reassures Antoine Dénériaz, Olympic downhill champion in 2006. And this, even if the executives are lacking in confidence this winter. “Clément Noël missed a few rounds in slalom. Since then it has the handbrake. He has lost a bit of his madness”analyzes Luc Alphand, consultant France Télévisions, not worried: “Alexis Pinturault, the Olympics is his goal. Knowing the animal, even if it’s complicated in the World Cup this season, we can count on him”.
Apart from their two headliners, the Blues have equally serious contenders in technical events (slalom, giant slalom), such as Mathieu Faivre, reigning world champion in Giant. On the other hand, it is more uncertain concerning the speed (downhill, Super-G). “We had a great speed team for 5-6 years. This year, we unfortunately lost Adrien Théaux and Brice Roger to injury. Our best chance will be Johan Clarey, who is 41 years old… It would be a great story”, imagines Alphand. A fairy tale that grew after Clarey’s excellent races in Kitzbühel (Austria). Even if in recent years the French have achieved four times more results in technique than in speed.
On the side of the French women’s team, it’s a different story. Medal hopes rest above all on flag bearer Tessa Worley. “Tessa has been running the house for 5-6 years, at least”, recalls Alphand. And good news: at 32, the 2013 and 2017 world giant slalom champion is back at her best. “She is in good shape and can go for a medal despite the competition. She is a great champion, if not the greatest champion that women’s skiing has ever had in France. It should not be forgotten. The only thing he misses is an Olympic title”recalls Dénériaz.
“The last few years, Tessa had some physical problems that prevented her from having a good preparation and from having the continuity to work properly all winter long. This year, after small problems at the start of the season, everything is going well: she has found continuity and confidence. Morale is at the rendezvous, the sessions suit him well. She achieved results that gave her confidence back”, warns the director of the French women’s alpine ski team, Alberto Senigagliesi. Tessa Worley could even create a surprise in Super-G, with very convincing recent outings in this discipline, where she has never made a podium.
“We can’t hide that Tessa is going to Beijing to bring back a medal.”
Alberto Senigagliesiat franceinfo
But behind the Grand Bornand skier, there are fewer certainties. “French women’s slalom is almost non-existent outside of Nastasia Noens. In Giant, there is Clara Direz, Coralie Frasse Sombet. And quickly, Romane Miradoli comes back a little, Tiffany Gauthier has a bad knee. Then, we have some not too bad young people that we are going to put in, but when you see the foreign competition, it is another level”, Alphand tempers.
For Antoine Dénériaz, the Bleues are facing a generational gap: “It’s a story of cycles. At one time, the French women’s team was much stronger than the men’s. It’s per period. But they are coming back quite a bit, like Laura Gauché who has just had good results”.
“Laura has found a mental balance and is able to produce her best skiing. It can create a surprise at the Olympics.”
Alberto Senigagliesi, director of the French women’s teamat franceinfo: sport
If they are less expected than their male counterparts, French skiers therefore have every chance in Beijing. Enough to hope for a nice rain of French medals in alpine skiing at these Games, even if the foreign competition will be formidable, from the Switzerland of Marco Odermatt via the Norway of Aleksander Kilde, or the always formidable Austrian and Italian teams.