He was really at home. Clément Noël easily won the Val d’Isère slalom this Sunday, where he lived between the ages of 15 and 18. The 24-year-old Frenchman won the first race of the World Cup, 1 second 40 ahead of Swede Kristoffer Jakobsen and 1 second 85 ahead of Croatian Filip Zubcic, both of whom are on the podium for the first time in their careers.
Ultimate survivor of the Blues, after the disqualification of Victor Muffat-Jeandet and the elimination of Alexis Pinturault in the morning, Noël finished first in both races. “The first round it was limited at the bottom, the second I don’t have too many memories, it doesn’t seem to me to have made any mistakes, I think I made progress in these types of conditions. Things in my skiing have evolved, that doesn’t mean that I found the recipe, but in any case it was good, ”he appreciated.
😍🇫🇷🙌 Clément Noël in demonstration !!! At home, the Frenchman shines with a thousand lights and masterfully wins the Val d’Isère slalom !!! #ChaletClub pic.twitter.com/CrxpmlRaVZ
– Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) December 12, 2021
After a frustrating last winter (two victories but three zeros), the native Vosges has a 9th success in slalom in the World Cup, the first in Val d’Isère, one more than his glorious elder Jean-Baptiste Grange, retired in the spring. Only Jean-Noël Augert (13) and Patrick Russel (9) have done better or at least as well in the history of the Blues.
“Already a great champion”
“He has enormous talent, he has intelligence, as he has proven today, he is already a great champion whatever the rest of his career. It is magnificent to do what he does at the age of 24, ”greeted the boss of the French technical group Frédéric Perrin.
World number 2 over the past three seasons, Clément Noël aspires to be better and has proven that he will be a contender for victory in every race, especially in less than two months at the Beijing Olympics (February 4-20).