In 2024, Clément Noël started his season with a landslide victory in the Levi slalom (Finland), where he took down his first pursuer, Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway, by eight-tenths of a second. A success that later enabled the Vosges to end nearly two years of famine. A year later, Clément Noël presented himself at the start of the season with more certainty, with four successes at the previous winter’s World Cup. And once again, he ended his day with a big smile on his face, Sunday 16 November.
There is a small difference, and no less important: this time, the 28-year-old French racer did not climb the top step of the podium. Second in the first round, he finished in the same place after the second round, each time beaten by Lucas Braathen. The former Norwegian skier – who has been racing for Brazil, his mother’s home country, since 2024, following a financial dispute with his previous federation – thus offered his new team the first win in its history. He finished 31 hundredths of a second ahead of Clément Noël and 57 ahead of Finland’s Eduard Hallberg, third.
30e World Cup podium
Apart from Clément Noël, the French also shone among the Finnish pickets. Already 13e In the first round, Paco Rassat performed even better on his second pass on the track, getting a 6e place, the best result of his career. Two rows behind him, Steven Amiez ideally starts the winter season which will bring the white circus to Milan-Cortina, where the Winter Olympics will take place from 6 to 22 February 2026.
Winner of the slalom at the last edition of the Olympics, in Beijing in 2022, Clément Noël wants to defend his title, but assured: “There is no big difference whether we prepare for the Olympic season or a more traditional season. » However, the Vosges native continued to rack up podium finishes, winning at Levi on the 30the his World Cup career.
