Beware of hypothermia. Before entering the competition on February 20, a few days before the end of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Games, the French ski cross team does not intend to spend the month of February in the Olympic village twiddling its thumbs until the start of its competition. As soon as the opening ceremony concludes this Friday, the Blues will take off… for the sun and the Canary Islands.
“Athletes from other nations tell us: We’re looking to train, we’re going to go skiing here and there, and you? When I tell them we’re going to the beach, the guys are hallucinating. It catches everyone off guard. It’s too strong to do that. This is Mitch’s strength, his management of the group and his planning,” Youri Duplessis Kergomard tells L’Equipe.
“I have some idea of how to prepare”
The freestyle ski champion, who has 16 World Cup podiums, speaks here about his coach Michel Lucatelli, who is used to the practice: he had performed the same green in Turkey on the sidelines of the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi (Russia). The result was exceptional with three men on the Olympic ski cross podium: Jean-Frédéric Chapuis, Arnaud Bovolenta and Jonathan Midol.
“I have a certain idea of how to prepare, and a certain strategy,” explains Michel Lucatelli, also at L’Equipe. I try to base myself not only on the Sochi Games, but also on all my experience. The internship in Türkiye was a highlight in 2014, so why not try the experience again? It allowed us to arrive a little more relaxed. Obviously we can’t do everything the same way. The group is different, we don’t arrive with the same status and the same dynamics as at the time. We also updated things, but keeping a bit of the same spirit as before Sochi. »
After fifteen days of green time combining rest and physical preparation, the Blues will return to Italy to prepare on the slopes before (finally) launching into the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Games, on February 20.
