Photo: Courtesy/ Val d’Isere

World Cup Racers Heap Praise on the First of its Kind Freestyle Slalom, Hosted by Clément Noël at the French Alps Resort. AJ Ginnis: “Probably the coolest ski event I’ve ever been to.”

It was an innovative, entertaining, and welcomed twist on traditional slalom — a chance for tech racers to add a touch of freestyle to their repertoire.

Racers navigated a parallel slalom course loaded with varied jumps and distinct features, including sculpted pyramids, 360-degree turns, and finally, two tunnels leading to the finish. Competitors intensified the mayhem having to slam a button, officially ending their runs while often getting tangled up. The creative event characterized itself as a fun-filled cocktail of slopestyle and slamming slalom gates, juxtaposing friendly competition and top-level entertainment. Parties too.

The three-day gathering took place at the Red Bull Alpine Park in Val d’Isère from April 26 to 28. French Olympic slalom champion Clément Noël played host. The event brought together marquee World Cup names, including Federica Brignone, Cyprien Sarrazin, Loïc Meillard, Victor Muffat-Jeandet, Alex Vinatzer, Kajsa Vickhoff Lie, and AJ Ginnis, among others.

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Competitors raved about the race, which also provided an ideal opportunity to share some good times together one last time before summer.

“It was honestly probably the coolest ski event I’ve ever been to,” Ginnis tells Ski Racing Media. “It had Clem’s unique vision of combining alpine park terrain with slalom and with the kiss of Clem’s love for luxury parties and all that stuff.”

Ginnis, the 2023 World Championship slalom silver medalist, shared his perspective on the jumps, terrain and adjacent park courses, which roughly ran just over one minute each.

“It was a crazy three days of great skiing in the way they built the parks — upon inspection, you look at the jumps and they seem massive. I’m a slalom skier, not a parks skier,” said the 29-year-old Greek racer. “Sure enough, you run it and it was so smooth and so well-built, so props to them.”

Italian all-rounder Brignone thoroughly enjoyed the event’s non-traditional race and overall flair. However, she also acknowledged that one shouldn’t take the course lightly.

“The first time I saw the (course) setting, I was like, ‘wow’ — with one jump about six meters to go from one side to the other. So, I told myself be careful. I was a little bit afraid, so concentration, above all, was my main goal,” Brignone said.

The 2019-20 overall World Cup champion succeeded and ultimately had a blast.

“It was a great occasion to see everybody in a different way, without stress. It was a lot of fun,” the veteran Italian racer remarked, also praising Noël for the top-notch event organization.

Noël’s Grand Vision

The concept and ultimate event creation was a joint vision between Noël and his friend Lucas Perrier. Noël and his team collaborated with Red Bull and Val d’Isère, the French racer’s adopted home resort.

“My overall impression was that it was very nice, an amazing event,” Noël tells Ski Racing Media. “But it was a little stressful organizing such a big event for the first time.

“I wanted to bring all of the best athletes in the world, then have them mix with young racers and share a cool event together at the end of the season.

“We wanted it to be a show, something spectacular, and also a real slalom with just enough jumps to be fun but safe and visual for everyone to see,” said the ten-time World Cup slalom winner.

Ginnis commended Noël and his crew not only for the thrilling race, but also for the amenities and extracurricular activities.

“The housing, hospitality, the food, the events — everything off the hill was A-plus,” said Ginnis. The former Green Mountain Valley School skier also noted that the race was well attended by enthusiastic fans.

The Future of the Mixed Gender Team Race

Teams contested the parallel slalom race on Saturday, following a full day of inspecting and exploring the course on Friday. The foursome of Vinatzer, Emma Aicher, and young French racers Leo Coppel and Cleo Chalamel combined their efforts to win the race.

Eight teams of four competitors each — comprised of one male and one female World Cup racer and one male and one female up-and-coming racer — competed side-by-side in the elimination format race.

Festivities wrapped up on Sunday as the World Cup stars met the younger racers at the park, perhaps sharing racing strategies, tips and ideas. First and foremost, they relished quality time together at the French Alps destination.

Noël believes there is a rosy future, just like a young French Bordeaux, for the post-season spectacle.

“The goal was to set the pace for the first event, and all of the athletes were over the moon. I was really happy about that,” said the 27-year-old Frenchman. “For sure, we will try to make it even better and develop it for the next few years in Val d’Isère.

“We will try to bring more athletes and do a better job organizing. We can do bigger things with more of a budget and more everything.”

Ginnis greatly anticipates returning to the festive race.

“Honestly, just being there with great people — it was so special. Everyone was there just to have a good time, and that we did for sure.”

Follow Brian on Instagram – @brian.pinelli