In the Yanqing Olympic slalom, Clement Noel took the top spot with a “Grande Finale” from sixth place. “He was unbeatable for everyone else in the second round, he brought it down really well,” Austria’s men’s racing director Andreas Puelacher tipped his hat to the Frenchman, who had ignited the turbo in a field “with 15 to 20 favorites for the podium places”. With his gold ride, the 24-year-old junior world champion from Davos 2018 brought tears to his coaches’ eyes.
Noel, who has celebrated nine World Cup victories in this discipline since January 2019, has often lost his nerve in a promising position in the recent past. Not this time. “It’s very emotional for me. Thanks to everyone who has supported me along the way. Thanks also to my Austrian fans who kept their fingers crossed for me,” said Noel. His compatriot Jacques Theolier, the coach of the Italians, cunningly flagged out the second run and thus played into the hands of the noble technician.
Michael Matt, also in the position of an aggressive hunter after the first run in seventh place, was not lucky. The Arlberg athlete got lost in the upper part and was eliminated. “It was over quickly. I haven’t felt as uncomfortable all week as I did when I scored the first goals,” admitted the 28-year-old.
Manuel Feller, who started as a medal candidate in the giant slalom and in the slalom, will start his journey home with a “salto nullo”. The 29-year-old does not appear in the result lists.
“My self-confidence at the Olympics was pretty bad,” admitted the man from St. Johann in Tirol. Feller never really got to grips with the special snow. “I take practically nothing positive from China.” The same applies to Marco Schwarz, who finished 17th. “It was an adventurous time – very bad skiing. I’m looking forward to going home.”
Source: Nachrichten
