French Championships: Ovations from over 1000 supporters in Les Orres!

Alexis Pinturault, Clément Noël and Nastasia Noens receive a standing ovation from a crowd of over 1,000 supporters at the French Elite Alpine Skiing Championships in Les Orres

On Sunday March 26, 2023, at the end of the women's and men's slaloms at the French Elite Alpine Skiing Championships in Les Orres, Pierre Vollaire, Mayor of Les Orres, accompanied by Renaud Muselier, President of the Region, Jean-Marie Bernard, President of the Department, Chantal Eyméoud, President of the Communauté de communes de Serre-Ponçon, Jean-Michel Arnaud, Senator, Dominique Dufour, Prefect, and Camille Combal, the star presenter and native of Les Orres, celebrated the victory and presented the medals to the French slalom champions: Clément Noël , Olympic champion, and Nastasia Noens, in the presence of Alpine skiing star Alexis Pinturault, double world champion.

Tessa Worley, the majestic exit of an immense champion

A few days earlier, two-time world champion Tessa Worley announced that she was calling time on her career. Her last competitive races took place on the piste at Les Orres, with a final podium finish as French Super-G champion. As the grande dame of world skiing, she didn't hesitate to raise her spatulas at the finish of the second run of the giant slalom in favor of her young runners-up Tiffany Roux du Sauze and Tea Lamboray des Orres, French champion and vice-champion respectively.

Pierre Vollaire presented her with a trophy on behalf of Les Orres, in recognition of her outstanding career and exemplary performance in every respect.

"La Pousterle", a legendary run in Olympic colors

Competitors, World Champions,... and the French Ski Federation, whose President Fabien Saguez was present, were able to discover or rediscover the emblematic "La Pousterle" piste, where several European Cup events were held. It is one of the most demanding runs in the Alps, earning it the nickname of "little Kitzbühel".



"La Pousterle is well known in the ski world. I'd never had the chance to ski it before, and it's a wonderful discovery for me. It's one of the most beautiful runs in France, and we'd like to see more competition there, whether it's FIS or European Cup. It's more than capable of hosting European Cups on a regular basis, and it would be a great omen for the younger skiers and the French team to be able to come and train on this run on a regular basis Alexis Pinturault, double world champion, holder of 6 crystal globes



With a vertical drop of 690 m (885 m in full configuration), a length of 2,012 m, an average running time of 1'50, an average running speed of 100 km/h with peaks of 143 km/h and an average gradient of 36%, the French Alpine Skiing experts were able to appreciate its very high level of suitability for international competitions, particularly those targeted by the SOUTH Region's bid for the Winter Olympic Games.

A collective spirit "en Orres

All the teams from SEMLORE, the local SCOCE ski club, the Commune of Les Orres, students from the Embrun Lycée des Métiers, along with the ESF, ESI, UCPA, etc., pulled out all the stops for over 2 months to ensure the success of a top-level sporting event. Every day, over 50 volunteers prepared the slopes to welcome the biggest names in French skiing.



"For several weeks now, we've been pulling out all the stops to host the French Championships. We're all driven by the desire to make a success of this event, but above all we're guided by the love of our profession, by this exceptional setting in which we're lucky enough to operate, and by this atmosphere, this effervescence typical of small teams who manage to move mountains with little means but so much passion." Jeff Hermitte, Event Director



Supported by the Région Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, the Département des Hautes Alpes, the communauté de communes de Serre-Ponçon and the commune of Les Orres, these Championships are a concrete expression of the desire to revive top-level skiing in Les Orres and to make the destination a benchmark host for top-flight sporting events.

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