Loïc Meillard is the most consistent slalom rider of the season and will logically wear the red bib on Saturday in Adelboden. However, the 28-year-old skier has had to take quite a few hits in the recent past.
January 6, 2024 in the Chuenisbärgli arena, Loïc Meillard is ready to slip behind the untouchable Marco Odermatt during the Adelboden giant. Except that the Valaisan of Neuchâtel origin loses a ski. “I fell very low that day. All my hopes were gone in a split second“, says Meillard in the SRF documentary “Der Ski-Zirkus”.
This is not the first time that Meillard has experienced such a mishap. Already in Sölden, his binding developed in collaboration with Rossignol had failed. “You lose your confidence in two races and it takes ten to find it againhe explains. It takes a lot of work and time. But we must draw a line and look forward.“A year has passed since the Bernese mishap. Confidence has returned and equipment problems are a thing of the past.
Valais rather than Bormio
Only from the start of the season, another hard blow. Still in Sölden. This time, it is not the material that designs, but the body. Not in the race, but in the warm-up. He received a blow and felt such pain in his back that he had to give up starting the Austrian giant.
Examinations reveal a tear in the covering of the intervertebral disc. Meillard must dose the training, seek the balance between competition and regeneration. He grits his teeth. This is what he did just before Christmas during the Alta Badia slalom, where, after an extremely solid 2nd round, the joy of achieving a new best time was less great than the pain in the back.
Meillard then chose to skip the speed races in Bormio. An extremely difficult decision for him to make, because in addition to potential World Cup points, the Stelvio track will also host the Olympics next year. No fight with Marco Odermatt in Super-G, Meillard takes a few days of rest at home in Hérémence.
“In slalom, a lot of things happen in your head”
“The break after Christmas did me good“, he says. It’s Thursday evening and he is sitting with his back straight as an i in the Swiss team hotel in Adelboden. Less than 24 hours earlier, he took 2nd place in the slalom of Madonna. A 4th podium in 5 races this season and unprecedented consistency in the middle of the stakes, where the slightest error can be synonymous with elimination.
“He was always fast and strongexplains Matteo Joris, head slalom coach at Swiss-Ski. But in slalom, a lot of things happen in your head. What certainly helped Loïc was his first good result in Levi, where he started without expectations or pressure.“
On Saturday, Meillard will start as leader of the discipline. “Wearing the red bib at home is really great. I’m looking forward to this weekend“, he enthuses. On Sunday, he will also be at the start of the most difficult giant of the winter and will put his back to the test, but the Valaisan will find a solution.
ats/bur
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