Courchevel Worlds – Alexis Pinturault dominates the combined Super-G, he will go for gold in the slalom

Alexis Pinturault and the handset, it’s a love story that doesn’t seem to be able to stop. Even in the midst of a complicated winter, the Frenchman always finds his best level as soon as he finds his favorite discipline. At home, on a track he knows by heart and of which he has mastered all the pitfalls, the world exercise champion in 2019 dominated the Super-G of the combined World Championships in Courchevel but nothing is done for him. the title. He is ahead of the Austrians Marco Schwarz (+ 0”06) and Raphael Haaser (+ 0”14) while the favorite Loïc Meillard is further away (12th, + 1”34). Now all that remains is to hold on in the slalom.

A king’s Super-G for “Pintu”

Half the way is done and it is (very) well done. Exercise world champion in 2019, reigning vice-world champion, Alexis Pinturault is still one of the favorites when it comes to combined. Even if it has disappeared from the World Cup circuit and the Frenchman is having a complicated winter. But at home, in Courchevel, on an Eclipse that he knows perfectly, the Habs confirmed that everything was going well for him in Super-G this season.

Very committed, very fair on the movements of the ground, Pinturault made the difference in the technical part of the route drawn by the Italian coach, a route where it was necessary to dare, to be direct and to anticipate some blind doors so important and which trapped Dominik Paris, Marco Odermatt and Adrian Smiseth Sejersted. But not the French, who cut each curve as short as possible, never dragging on the support, even if it meant taking risks. And it paid off. A performance that would undoubtedly have ensured him the podium in the previous combined. But not this season. Not yet.

The Swiss-Norwegian threat

This winter, Alexis Pinturault is struggling in slalom, able to shine (5th in Val d’Isère) as well as not qualifying (Kitzbühel and Schladming). A finding quite similar to that of the reigning world champion, Marco Schwarz. Surprising in Super-G, the Austrian is suffering in his favorite discipline (no top 5, not qualified in Kitzbühel), even if he seems to offer more certainty than the Frenchman. And his delay (+ 0”06) leaves him with every hope of retaining his title. The fight for the podium promises to be damn open with a good time margin for Raphael Haaser (+ 0”14) but the Austrian is far from safe with many technical specialists on the line. lookout.

The surprise could come from the American River Radamus (5th, + 0”59), bluffing on the Super-G, but the danger will come above all from the Swiss Justin Murisier (6th, + 1”03) and Loic Meillard ( 12th, + 1”34) and the Norwegian Atle Lie McGrath (10th, + 1”25), quite capable of taking a second from the competition. A competition which has already lost two podium candidates since Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, not 100% and who kept some on the Super-G (7th, + 1”05), declared that he would not be on the slalom . For his part, the combined Olympic champion Johannes Strolz continues his catastrophic winter (28th, + 2”48) and has already lost any chance of a medal.