French skier Alexis Pinturault is experiencing his return to the circuit this weekend in Beaver Creek (Colorado, United States) with “apprehension” after a serious injury in Januaryhe explained on Wednesday. “I’m happy to be back, but there’s a lot of apprehension. My last time on the circuit was in Wengen for my injury. I’m coming back after good quality training in the United States, that’s is getting better and better, but the race remains the race, with more demanding and faster tracks”, he indicated during a press briefing with several French media.
Alexis Pinturault (33), winner of the general classification of the World Cup in 2021, ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee following a heavy fall during the super-G in Wengen (Switzerland) mid- January. The three-time Olympic medalist with 34 World Cup successes took 44th place in the first official practice of the Beaver Creek downhill on Tuesday.
“It’s not the easiest route for a return”
“I had a lot of apprehension, I experienced various emotions. There was also fear, it was the first time that I was again confronted with speeds above 120 km/h, with new ground movements This is not the simplest path for a return. added the Frenchman, who specified that he had called upon a mental trainer before his return.
Beaver Creek marks the start of the season for speed events, with a downhill on Friday, a super-G on Saturday then a giant on Sunday. Alexis Pinturault does not yet know if he will start the downhill and super-G, only the giant being officially on his program for the moment. “It will be a very different winter from other seasons where I aimed for podiums and victories. I am not 100%, I have to adapt, continue to manage my knee, there are days when it reacted more than others. It’s going to be a season of reconstruction, there’s no question of thinking about being efficient from the start.”
Senegal
Related News :