In the finish area, at the foot of the legendary Chuenisbärgli, Swiss fans waved the flags. Just after the line, and despite his elimination, Loïc Meillard raised a hand to greet the crowd. But the heart wasn’t in it.
At the exit of the Chäla passage, after a final right turn, the public shouted their joy and clapped their hands for each athlete they saw. There, he suddenly became disillusioned. The Hérémence skier placed one of his two skis on a post at the entrance to the final wall. Cold snap on Adelboden.
Obviously very disappointed, Loïc Meillard took off his red slalom leader’s bib, which he wore for the first time after a crazy start to winter – 4 podiums in 5 races in the specialty. Then he changed and leaned on a stick to watch his friends from the Swiss team.
“It hurts not to see the finish line, especially here,” he explains. But riding is part of the game when you’re at the limit.” This is the fourth time, the second between tight stakes, in his career that he has been eliminated in the Bernese Oberland, in front of his home crowd.
Irony of history. Thursday evening, during the meeting with journalists, Loïc Meillard recalled the ingratitude of his discipline and that even the best slalom rider of the moment could “go out like a beginner”. He didn’t think he was saying that well.
-“It wasn’t easy, the snow was completely different from what we saw in the last races,” he said at the bottom of the course, without making excuses. You have to get used to and adapt to the snow.” For two days, it hasn’t been cold enough – it’s forecast for the night from Saturday to Sunday – for the track to harden enough for the slalom.
Last year, the Valaisan experienced something extremely rare: he lost a giant ski in Adelboden. During a major interview afterwards with RTS, he said that he had not even watched the second round and that he had spent the afternoon on his bed, contemplating the ceiling, before going to hurt himself alone in nature, by chaining together high-intensity intervals. He will undoubtedly be less punitive with himself on Saturday.
“I will certainly be less brooding,” he responds with a half smile to a question from Matin.ch. I just need to refocus and do a little physical work to be ready for Sunday. I have another chance and I will try to do better as a giant.”
Before disappearing, Loïc Meillard stopped to take a few photos for the fans in the front row in the stands. Not all the Swiss could say the same after the first round.
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