He keeps the verb clear, his cold faculty of analysis and connects without flinching the media solicitations. A few minutes earlier, Clément Noël had seen his dream of a home medal evaporate by only three hundredths, the time separating him at the end of the two runs of the Courchevel slalom from the bronze of the Italian Alex Vinatzer. A year after his Olympic title at the Beijing Games, the French ski prodigy stalled at the foot of the podium on Sunday at the heart of a mixed season where he failed to finish half of his World Cup races.
Third place and the medal escape you for three hundredths…
CLEMENT NOËL. It’s very, very few… I could have found them almost everywhere, in the second run, but especially in the first run. But hey, Vinatzer could also have found them somewhere, he must have made some mistakes too. We can’t race again. We need a 4th on arrival, but it’s a shame that it’s me. The public was at the rendezvous, it was a crazy atmosphere, but the icing on the cake, the medal, to end this fortnight is missing. I’m disappointed, but I don’t have much to reproach myself for in the second run. It’s played at so much nothing, I don’t know what to say.
How much did your mixed season affect your performance today?
Frankly, it’s different. It’s a parenthesis, I don’t feel like I’m at a World Cup. The skiing was pretty good in the last two World Cups (a victory in Schladming, an outing in Chamonix after winning the first round), and there it is, too. If I don’t make this mistake on the first run, I ski among the first. On the second, it also leaves to play in front. It doesn’t reflect much. It’s so special, especially up there. You should be there. We are in the gate, there is a super steep frozen wall, and we see the public who only wants to see us arrive at the bottom.
What are you going to get out of this race?
Me, I was there to get a medal, so for the moment I don’t think too much about what I can come out as positive. In the end, I almost did the job today. Now I still want to be ahead for the rest of the season to tell myself that it’s not such a rotten season. The time to take stock will come at the end of the season. There, it was a special event for us French people, so it’s frustrating.
Is being in front of your supporters pressure or support?
Both. We have more pressure, but we feel supported. I could have done better, but I could have done worse. I did not break down under the pressure. It was not an easy race, it is played with very little. I thank the public for pushing so hard, because it was a successful race. I am also thinking of the people in front of their television who have witnessed a beautiful page of our sport with emotions, suspense. They must have vibrated, so that’s cool.