Change of course for Alexis Pinturault. At the end of a delicate season where he will not have succeeded in returning to his level of winter 2020-2021, the Savoyard, winner of the big globe in 2021, is changing coach. Stéphane Quittet, a former member of the staff of the French alpine ski team, has been appointed new federal coach within his cell. He replaces Fabien Munier, in office for five years.
Decided by the skier, in agreement in particular with the director of the French men’s alpine ski team David Chastan, this appointment has been formalized by the French Ski Federation.
Stéphane Quittet knows Alexis Pinturault well for having had him under his responsibility for a long time in the technical group of the Blues. The coach was a member of the tricolor staff for 9 years, and was even responsible for it for several years. In 2016, after a magnificent hat-trick for the French in giants during the Saint-Moritz World Cup finals (Thomas Fanara 1st, Alexis Pinturault 2nd and Mathieu Faivre 3rd), he decided to leave his post.
The coach has since trained in mental preparation, and works in collaboration with the federation. In the small cell of Alexis Pinturault, Stéphane Quittet will be associated with Nicolas Thoule, another personal coach, paid by the champion and not by the federation. Romane, Alexis’ wife, also works in the staff.
mental flaws
After a magnificent 2020-2021 season, at the end of which Alexis Pinturault climbed to the highest step in world skiing by carving the big crystal globe, the Savoyard had a lot more trouble this year. The 31-year-old Frenchman only finished 10th overall, far, very far from leader Marco Odermatt. Above all, Alexis Pinturault missed his meeting of the year, the Beijing Olympics.
No medal for the skier from Courchevel, yet a double medalist in Pyeongchang in 2018. “I started the season tired. (…) I felt that psychologically and nervously I was exhausted. It’s when I find this flame that everything will be realigned, ”he confided at the end of the competition.
“I will finish the season, I will continue to hang on. But I know that I will not be able to fight to get victories. I have to rebuild myself, ”he explained in February. With a new coach specializing in mental preparation and whom he knows very well, Alexis Pinturault hopes to be reborn, bounce back and return to his level, that of the best skier in the world.
