Alexis Pinturault / GEPA pictures
Alexis Pinturault has announced his retirement from alpine ski racing and will end his 17-year World Cup career after the 2025-26 World Cup Finals giant slalom in Hafjell, Norway.
The French star leaves the sport as the most successful alpine skier in French history, with 34 World Cup victories, 77 podiums, the 2021 overall World Cup title, and multiple Olympic and World Championship medals.
The 34-year-old made his World Cup debut at the 2009 World Cup Finals in Åre, having won World Junior giant slalom gold in Garmisch-Partenkirchen earlier that season at just 18 years old.
Two years later, he captured the World Junior giant slalom title again, this time in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, confirming his status as one of the brightest young talents in alpine ski racing.
Alexis Pinturault Olympic medals and results
Pinturault competed in three Olympic Winter Games between 2014 and 2022, although he was not selected for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic team after Alban Elezi Cannaferina secured the final French giant slalom spot with his podium finish in Schladming.
Pinturault, who turns 35 on March 20, won Olympic giant slalom bronze medals at both Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018.
He also captured Olympic silver in Alpine Combined at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang.
Alexis Pinturault World Championship medals and titles
The 2021 World Cup overall champion and giant slalom globe winner also represented France at seven FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, winning seven medals during his career — six individual medals and team gold in 2017.
The 34-time World Cup race winner captured World Championship Alpine Combined gold in 2019 and again in his home resort of Courchevel in 2023.
He also earned World Championship giant slalom bronze medals in 2015 and 2019, along with Super-G bronze medals in 2021 and 2023, the latter on home snow at the Courchevel/Méribel World Championships.
Alexis Pinturault career stats: World Cup wins, podiums, and records
France’s most successful alpine skier of all time, Pinturault won 34 World Cup races (10th all-time) and recorded 77 World Cup podiums (11th all-time) along with 188 World Cup top-10 finishes (sixth all-time).
Those results came across all six alpine disciplines — downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, Alpine Combined, and parallel events — highlighting his rare versatility as one of the last true all-around racers in modern ski racing.
With 10 victories and 15 podiums in Alpine Combined, the Frenchman stands as the joint most successful World Cup Alpine Combined skier in history.
Why Alexis Pinturault is retiring after the 2026 World Cup Finals
He has qualified for the World Cup Finals giant slalom in Hafjell, the only discipline he has competed in this season after returning from a serious knee injury suffered two years ago.
In the 2025-26 campaign, Pinturault recorded three top-15 finishes, including a season-best 11th place in Beaver Creek, Colorado in December.
He currently sits 16th in the giant slalom standings, but has not finished inside the top ten since placing ninth in the 2024 Wengen downhill — his personal best World Cup downhill result — one week before his heavy crash in the Kitzbühel Super-G.
That crash marked the beginning of the final chapter of an extraordinary career.
Alexis Pinturault retirement marks the end of a rare all-around champion
One of the last true all-around racers of the modern era, Pinturault leaves a major hole in the French team and in the “White Circus” of World Cup racing.
Few skiers in modern alpine racing have matched his versatility, strength, and ability to compete across disciplines while pushing the limit of speed and control on the world’s most demanding courses.
Fans will now turn their attention to Hafjell, Norway, where Pinturault is expected to take the start for the final giant slalom race of his career on March 24 — an emotional farewell for one of alpine skiing’s greatest champions.
About the Author: Matt Garcka
