(Beaupré) Félix-Albert, 3 years old, was rolling in the snow under the more or less watchful eye of his big sister Olivia, 5 years old.
The little boy was floating in the yellow bib his mother had slipped over her winter coat. Olivia, wearing a red bib, was warm under her Canada toque on this sunny day.
Before hitting the road, Dominique Maltais rummaged through her souvenir box in Petite-Rivière-Saint-François. She found a bib she wore as the leader of the World Cup standings.
“The bibs, I put them in the middle of the rink to separate the teams before a hockey game…”
Sunglasses on her nose, ski goggles on her head, the double Olympic snowboardcross medalist reconnected with her band on the first day of qualifying for the Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup on Friday.
“It’s next to my house, I think it’s wonderful,” said Maltais, who finished second when the circuit last visited Quebec at Stoneham in 2013.
She had just reconnected with Italian Omar Visintin, 33, bronze medalist at the Beijing Olympics and second in the World Cup standings.
“This morning I was very emotional when I saw [Austrian] Nick Baumgartner again. It’s a big part of my life. Without questioning myself, there isn’t a winter where I don’t say to myself: “Ah, I could have done this or that…” At some point, life changes too. »
The 42-year-old Dominique Maltais retired in March 2015, a week after her 15th and final World Cup victory. In addition to her bronze medal in Turin in 2006 and silver in Sochi in 2014, she reached the podium twice at the World Championships, in 2011 and 2013.
Ambassador of a somewhat daredevil sport that she introduced to Quebecers, the proud representative of the Massif de Charlevoix returned to her first love a few years ago: fire prevention.
The former firefighter in Montreal now works full-time in the City of Baie-Saint-Paul, 20 minutes from her home.
“I also take courses in fire to try to improve myself and open up other horizons when the children are older. »
When she can – she’s a “single parent” during the week since her boyfriend works outside – she hits the slopes on her board “in spare time”…
During the season, she follows all the races live, with a particular eye on her “favorite”, Eliot Grondin, to whom she has played a mentoring role since her retirement.
“I’m very proud of him. He had a lot of bad luck. But he rides really hard and I think that at the end of the week, it will be his turn to shine and finish the season in style. »
During the weekend, Dominique Maltais will be on the microphone to comment on the competitions with host Marc Durand.
“Mom, Felix has lost his boot…” Olivia had just signaled the end of the little interview…
Heartbreaking scene during Friday qualifying: Arianne Gallant fell in a trench between two jumps at the start of the course. The 17-year-old snowboarder tried everything to extricate herself from her awkward position, but she was unable to do so, the curb being practically higher than her. She succeeded after unfastening a binding, eventually making it all the way down. Crying in the finish area, she was consoled by her parents. On her first start in the World Cup, the teenager from the South Shore in the Quebec region wanted at all costs to live the experience to the end, even if she did not obtain an official time. She succeeded in the second round of qualifying, without obtaining her selection for this Saturday’s elimination rounds, reserved for the first 16. The recent Canada Games silver medalist will nevertheless have the opportunity to take part in Sunday’s event, where all registrants will be admitted to the draw.
