Torchlight descent on the Face de Bellevarde, under the fireworks and surrounded by the instructors of the Val d’Isère resort, the entrance is neat for Clément Noël on Tuesday evening, for his return to his reception station, at Valley of Isere ! The Beijing Olympic champion is, that evening, a veritable monument in Narlay Street. It is on skis, with a gold medal around his neck, that Clément Noël presents himself to the crowd of tourists and enthusiasts.
“It’s magic to be close to him like that, he is really very very strong” rejoices a regular at the station, “it’s class, it’s super stylish” chained another, admiring. “To resist the pressure like that and make the round of your life! It’s still a crazy thing!” admire this other fan, autograph hunter. Clément Noël lends himself to the game with good grace, surrounded by children and French flags, he signs autographs with a vengeance, assailed by his fans.
“It makes me proud, because we were also a young person, the same, in a club that watched skiing on TV” – Clément Noël
Children have stars in their eyes, like Oscar. “I love it. I’ve been following these races for four years, so he’s a superhero, I think he’s a real champion!” exults the boy. And Clément Noël also savors and sees himself again in all these young people from the Sports Club. “It makes me proud” recognizes the Olympic champion, “because we were also a young person in a club who watched skiing on TV. So it’s cool to be able to see them and share with them” he smiled.
“I came to Val d’Isère to say bravo to him!” – Jean-Claude Killy
This new notoriety has not escaped the legend of alpine skiing and Val d’Isère, Jean-Claude Killy. He was alongside Clément Noël on Tuesday evening on the podium. “We have a great new ambassador, it seems to me” declares Jean-Claude Killy, the only Frenchman to have won three gold medals in alpine skiing, in a single edition of the Winter Olympics*. It was in 1968, in Grenoble, in giant slalom, downhill and slalom. “I think we’re lucky because skiing, as a sport today, is quite a hard sell. So to have Clément on the front line is wonderful!” he exclaims. Fifty-four years later, the transfer of power seems assured in the Savoyard resort.
*NB: In 2018, Martin Fourcade also won three Olympic titles during the same edition, it was in biathlon.
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