“A lot of runners think like me but very few will say so. “Johan Clarey has a hell of a stick. The 42-year-old skier spoke about his experience to denounce the choice of calendar of the International Ski Federation (FIS). On the program, two new stages in Zermatt (Switzerland) and Cervinia (Italy) at the end of October and the beginning of November, while the snow conditions in the resorts are worrying at the start of autumn.
“A third of the track is missing snow. The lower part, outside the glacier, there is no snow at all, because it is still too hot,” explains Laurent Chrétien, press officer for the French Ski Federation. The FIS exceptionally postponed the “snow control” for six days on Sunday, hoping for temperatures low enough to use the snow cannons. “I think the race has no place. This stage requires enormous resources in a helicopter, human resources to plug the crevices, to make a track drinkable, ”said the Olympic downhill vice-champion to AFP.
“We must also talk about the lack of grouping of races”
Johan Clarey was there two weeks ago for a four-day internship. What largely confirms his first impressions: “I find that this race is nonsense. Many efforts in favor of the environment are made in the resorts to accommodate the general public. So doing races that go the opposite of that, I don’t know if we give a very good image of our sport. »
The French Ski Federation is also questioning this choice of calendar: “With this decision, are we in agreement with the evolution on climate issues? The answer is no. The federation defends a position, with the ski resorts, to limit the carbon footprint within the limits of our means. »
But the question does not stop only at the attributions of these two new stages in Switzerland and Italy. “We also have to talk about the round trips, the lack of grouping of races. We will go twice to the United States. Why not go just once, changing the schedule a bit? asks Laurent Chrétien. The French team first meets this weekend in Sölden, Austria, for the start of the alpine ski season. With snow this time.
