Alexis
Pinturault
France
·
Alpine Skiing
Date of birth | 20 March 1991 |
|---|---|
Place of birth | Moûtiers |
Age | 34 |
Nationality | France |
Career start | 2009 |
Disciplines | Alpine Skiing Combined / Alpine Skiing Giantslalom / Alpine Skiing Super G / Alpine Skiing Slalom |
"I want to make history in my sport," says French alpine skiing pro Alexis Pinturault and he's done just that. It was obvious from an early age, when he first became Junior world champion, that the French skier was destined for great things. Though polite, kind and discreet, he also has a quiet determination he puts into action.
He was brought up to be a winner. "My dad, Claude, is demanding. He knows his business and has always told me that you have to win to earn respect. My mother is athletic too… I must have inherited their competitive genes."
Alexis chose skiing over a promising football career. It was a wise move. At the end of the 2013–14 season, he claimed third place in the overall World Cup rankings and a bronze medal in Sochi.
2015–16 was even better and brought him a hard-earned Crystal Globe in the FIS Combined World Cup, a title he then defended in 2016–17. In 2018, he added two more bronze medals to his haul in the Alpine Combined and Giant Slalom events in Pyeongchang.
At the 2019 World Championships in Åre, Sweden, he took the gold medal in alpine combined, the first Frenchman to do so for 37 years. He also reclaimed the World Cup crystal globe in the discipline and held on to it the following year.
The 2020-21 season was an unforgettable one for Alexis, with the Frenchman producing a string of outstanding performances that resulted in him earning the crystal globe in the Giant Slalom and securing his first overall World Cup title on his 30th birthday.
The following season was a tough one for Alexis as he failed to secure a single podium finish, but at the start of 2023 he showed his class as he took gold in the alpine combined at the World Championships.
Firmly established as one of the world's leading alpine skiers, Alexis made the decision to stop racing slalom and focus on the speed disciplines from the 2023–24 season onward and we can't wait to see how he fares against the world's best speedsters.