Alexis Pinturault

Alexis Pinturault
— Alpine skier —

Alexis Pinturault (2011)
Disciplines Giant slalom, slalom, combined, super-G
Club Douanes – SC Courchevel
Born 20 March 1991
Moûtiers, Savoie, France
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in)
World Cup debut 13 March 2009 (age 17)
Website alexispinturault.com
Olympics
Teams 1 – (2014)
Medals 1 (0 gold)
World Championships
Teams 3 – (2011, 2013, 2015)
Medals 1 (0 gold)
World Cup
Seasons 5th – (2011–15)
Wins 9
Podiums 28
Overall titles 0 – (3rd in 2014, 2015)
Discipline titles 0 – (2nd in GS, 2015)

Alexis Pinturault ( Alexis Pinturault ) (born 20 March 1991) is a French World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic medalist.

Pinturault has nine World Cup victories through March 14, 2015.[1] He represented France at the World Championships in 2011 and 2013, and at the Winter Olympics in 2014, where he won a bronze medal in the giant slalom. He was a two-time world junior champion in giant slalom, in 2009 and 2011.[2]

Early years

Born in Moûtiers, Savoie, Pinturault grew up in Annecy. His mother, Hege Wiig Pinturault, is from Bergen, Norway, and he spent many of his childhood summers in Norway at Hestnesøy, near Grimstad. He has dual citizenship and was a double junior world champion in giant slalom in 2009 and 2011.

Ski racing career

A week before his 18th birthday, Pinturault made his World Cup debut in March 2009 in Åre, Sweden. His first podium came two years later in March 2011, a runner-up finish in giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. That fall, he was also a runner-up at Sölden in October 2011, and gained his first World Cup victory in February 2012, in the parallel slalom in Moscow, Russia.

2013 season

Pinturault was unable to make the season start in Sölden in October 2012, as he injured his ankle while playing tennis and had to pause for a three-month period. In December, he won his second World Cup race in a slalom at Val-d'Isère, where he thrilled the home fans with a brilliant second run under the floodlights to rise from sixth place. He convincingly beat Germany's Felix Neureuther by half a second and future World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher, who led by 0.57 seconds after the first run. Pinturault's third win was at the super-combined in Wengen, Switzerland, where his superior slalom skills were key. After placing 22nd in the downhill portion, he finished 1.15 seconds ahead of Ivica Kostelić of Croatia. The training run for the downhill portion was his first time on downhill skis for months, as he missed pre-season speed training after surgery on his left ankle in August to repair ligaments damaged while playing tennis. Pinturault did not medal at the world championships in 2013, but had four top-six finishes. A week later he claimed a fourth World Cup win, his first in giant slalom, at Garmisch, Germany. Second after the first run, Pinturault's total time was 0.60 seconds ahead of runner-up Hirscher. On 15 March, he was honored as the 2013 Longines Rising Star, as the top young racer (under 23) of the season.

World Cup results

Season standings

Season  Age   Overall   Slalom  Giant
 slalom  		Super-G Downhill Combined
2011 19 54 – 22 30 – 30
2012 20 10 18 4 22 54 4
2013 21 6 9 3 33 – 1^
2014 22 3 9 3 13 – 1^
2015 23 3 10 2 10 – 2

^ Only two combined races scheduled; a crystal globe was not awarded.

Race podiums

Season Date Location Discipline Place
2011 5 Mar 2011 Kranjska Gora, Slovenia Giant slalom 2nd
2012 23 Oct 2011 Sölden, Austria Giant slalom 2nd
5 Feb 2012 Chamonix, France Super combined 2nd
21 Feb 2012 Moscow, Russia Parallel slalom 1st
10 Mar 2012 Kranjska Gora, Slovenia Giant slalom 2nd
11 Mar 2012 Slalom 3rd
15 Mar 2012 Schladming, Austria Super-G 2nd
2013 8 Dec 2012 Val-d'Isère, France Slalom 1st
1 Jan 2013 Munich, Germany Parallel slalom 3rd
18 Jan 2013 Wengen, Switzerland Super combined 1st
27 Jan 2013 Kitzbühel, Austria Combined 2nd
24 Feb 2013 Garmisch, Germany Giant slalom 1st
9 Mar 2013 Kranjska Gora, Slovenia Giant slalom 3rd
16 Mar 2013 Lenzerheide, Switzerland   Giant slalom 3rd
2014 27 Oct 2013 Sölden, Austria Giant slalom 2nd
22 Dec 2013 Alta Badia, Italy Giant slalom 2nd
17 Jan 2014 Wengen, Switzerland Super combined 2nd
19 Jan 2014 Slalom 1st
26 Jan 2014 Kitzbühel, Austria Super combined 1st
2 Feb 2014 St. Moritz, Switzerland Giant slalom 3rd
13 Mar 2014 Lenzerheide, Switzerland Super-G 1st
15 Mar 2014 Giant slalom 2nd
2015 26 Oct 2014 Sölden, Austria Giant slalom 3rd
6 Dec 2014Beaver Creek, USA Super-G 3rd
7 Dec 2014 Giant slalom 2nd
10 Jan 2015Adelboden, Switzerland Giant slalom 2nd
23 Jan 2015 Kitzbühel, Austria Super combined 1st
14 Mar 2015 Kranjska Gora, Slovenia Giant slalom 1st

World Championships results

  Year    Age   Slalom  Giant
 slalom  		Super-G Downhill Combined
2011 19 17 — DNF — —
2013 21 6 5 6 — 6
2015 23 DNF2 3 11 — 5

Olympic results

  Year    Age   Slalom  Giant
 slalom  		Super-G Downhill Combined
2014 22 DNF2 3 — — DNF2

References

  1. ↑ "Pinturault flawless in Kranjska Gora GS". 14 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "JWSC: Alexis Pinturault (FRA) takes men’s giant slalom". fisalpine.com. 30 January 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2011.

External links

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