“I hope to keep the momentum for tomorrow,” Alexis Guimond said in an interview with Sportcom on Wednesday after his gold medal in the giant slalom of the Para-Alpine Skiing World Cup in Cortina. And that’s exactly what he did 24 hours later when he again finished first in the second giant slalom (standing category) held at the same venue in Italy.
“Honestly, it didn’t surprise me. I had a lot of speed yesterday [Wednesday] and I felt really comfortable on the track, especially in these [spring] conditions. When the sun is shining, I’m at my best! admitted the winner, very happy on the phone with Sportcom.
Trailing Frenchman Arthur Bauchet by 46 hundredths of a second after the opening round where the rounder course gave him more trouble, the Gatineau native made a thundering second run, almost a second faster than his rival who finished second with a delay of half a second in the cumulative.
“I had no doubt that I could catch him. I’ve been saying for several years that I have the potential to climb to the top [of the podium] and be competitive with Arthur. [In the second run] I just had to point the skis down and give it my all,” added Guimond.
The Swiss Theo Gmuer (2.54 s) was the other medalist in the category. On Wednesday, Gmuer finished second and Bauchet third.
For his part, Julien Petit guided his teammate Logan Leach to sixth place in the classification of the male visually impaired event.
Alexis Guimond’s World Cup season is now over. The athlete mentions being a little disappointed to see his great momentum come to an abrupt end, except that he quickly finds a way to console himself.
“It ends the season in a big way and the expectations for the next one are very high based on these results. I am really ambitious for next year. […] It is really amazing to have had success at the end of this season and it looks good for Cortina in 2026.”
It is no coincidence that the Quebecer is referring to the next Paralympic Games, because the races for these Games will be contested on the Olympia delle Tofane track, where he was dominant this week.
“It just gives me hope for future years and it’s really exciting!” I don’t have a Paralympic gold medal and it would be really great to have one. I hope to keep this momentum in the next three years and we will meet again in Cortina! »
The Para-Alpine Skiing World Cup season will end on Friday with the presentation of the slalom races. Julien Petit will be the only Quebecer in action.
