France shows up in Paris: Noel gives up Soelden and Roger says no to the speed opening

The Olympic slalom champion will focus on his discipline, but will participate in the parallel of Lech waiting to improve the bibs to return to the giant. The 32-year-old sprinter, who hasn't competed in the cup for over a year and a half, still suffers from knee problems and could only make it to the North American races.

Wednesday 12 October 2022 5 minutes reading time

The Equipe de France officially presented itself earlier this week, with the traditional meeting organized by the federation in Paris. An opportunity to understand how the leaders of the transalpine formations are working, starting with Tessa Worley and Alexis Pinturault who will already aim to start strong in the opening giants of the World Cup in Soelden. On the Rettenbach, next 23 October, we will not see Clément Noel: last year the protagonist of three races between the wide doors, including the Austrian opening, the 25-year-old native of the Vosges will give up for a double reason, he who has so far been a giant scored points only once, 30th in March 2021 in Kranjska Gora. Below 500 points in the slalom WCSL after a decidedly subdued final last year, costing the Olympic champion the possible success in the specialty cup he has been chasing since 2019, when he was second for the first of three times in the series, Noel did not it could not leave immediately after 30 as it has done up to now. Here, if he wants to prepare himself to the maximum for his favorite discipline, considering also the World Championships at home, the seasonal debut in giant is postponed at least to the two appointments on the Gran Risa, which will arrive the following week compared to the first slalom of CdM, scheduled December 12 in Val d''Isère. The transalpine ace, however, will be at the starting gate of the parallel of Lech in mid-November, after the training scheduled in recent weeks in Tignes and before climbing, as every year, in Sweden. Bad news in France coming from Brice Roger: the Savoyard sprinter born in 1990, in fact, has already made it known, as reported by the colleagues of "Ski Chrono", that he will give a flat rate for the two new runs of Zermatt-Cervinia, scheduled on 29 and 30 October on the brand new Gran Becca. The Equipe de France specialist does not want to give himself new deadlines, although he hopes to return for the North American trip between Lake Louise and Beaver Creek, given the long ordeal that is far from over for knee problems. Back on skis at the end of July in Zermatt, Roger had to skip the national camp in Chile: "I had pain in my right knee (the one injured again by falling in the Garmisch descent on February 5, 2021, the last race so far played by Brice, ed), but now it is the left one that gives me problems, as I have no more cartilage. It's complicated...". While his teammates are working these days in the shadow of the Matterhorn together with the Swiss and the Azzurri just with a view of the “Speed Opening”, for an excellent specialist like Roger there is still a long way to go.

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