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Chamonix – Clément Noël dominates the first leg, Ramon Zenhaeusern and Daniel Yule chasing

Lighting up green on the Verte des Houches, Clément Noël is used to it. Already winner twice in Chamonix, the Vosgien did it again this Saturday by dominating the first round of the Haut-Savoyard slalom. With his bib number 3, the Frenchman has perfectly negotiated the rare difficulties of a fairly easy route where the grip will have been essential, with in particular a very high level intermediate section. The Habs are ahead of the Swiss Ramon Zenhaeusern (+ 0”15) and Daniel Yule (+ 0”17) while the Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen is on the lookout (+ 0”40).

We have indeed found the real Clément Noël. The Olympic champion, the one who is inherently the fastest slalomer on the planet. The skier with such an elegant style, so composed and yet so energetic, who seems untouchable. And that’s exactly what happened. On a track he knows by heart, where he trained last week, the Vosgien signed a round in two stages: accuracy and tranquility on the top of the route, where many skiers played equal, and an extraordinary intermediate section, marked by a tactical choice to approach the double from the right, a choice which then inspired many.

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One more qualified Frenchman…

Untouchable on this section (- 0”25 better than his runner-up on this part), the Frenchman had set out to explode the competition but the end of the route, a little flatter, suited him a little less and the Habs lost the half of his lead over Yule and two-thirds of his lead over Zenhaeusern, whose large frame worked wonders on the bottom. With “only” 0”15 and 0”17 ahead of the two Swiss, nothing is done before the second round, especially since we will also have to be wary of the Norwegians, with Kristoffersen (4th, + 0”40), Foss-Solevaag (5th, + 0”58) and McGrath (6th, + 0”61) placed before the second round.

Noël: “I wasn’t sure of my sleeve”

On the other hand, the other Habs engaged, all outside the thirty, did not shine and none passed the cut. If Théo Letitre did not finish, the others crossed the line well but all paid for their lack of commitment on the top of the route. The closest to qualifying, Hugo Desgrippes, finished 38th (+ 1”83), only sixteen hundredths from 30th place for Briton Laurie Taylor. There will be only one Habs in the second round, but he is the one who closed the gate.

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