This Sunday, February 26 will remain engraved in the memory of Laura Gauché. At 27, the skier from Moûtiers (Savoie) had the best race of her career during the descent of Crans-Montana (Switzerland) by finishing, for the very first time, on the podium of a Coupe du alpine skiing world. "It's a huge surprise," admitted the interested party, 3rd, behind the Italians Sofia Goggia (1ʳᵉ) and Federica Brignone (2ᵉ).
"It was quite difficult in the head but I thought 'stay in it, it'll do'," explained the Frenchwoman after the race, which was originally scheduled for Saturday and was postponed for a day due to the fog and runway conditions. Starting with bib 26, Laura Gauché had to wait a long time before starting.
“I was quite relaxed, but mentally it was very hard to wait all day yesterday [Saturday], to know if it was going to run or not. This morning, again, the fog…” she said. The snowflakes may have made visibility difficult, especially at the top of the track, but she reveals, "I'm often not bad when the girls don't see their feet too much." I am a little less afraid perhaps than others, so I know that these conditions may be suitable for me. »
"It's too beautiful a day"
For her seventh season and after 111 starts in the World Cup, Laura Gauché has therefore carved out a place for the very first time on a podium. "I'm so happy, it's such a beautiful day. Visibility conditions kept changing. It was a pretty complicated race," said the tricolor skier, in clear progress and who thus achieved her sixth Top 10 in thirteen months.
After the not easy Worlds in Courchevel-Méribel (Savoie), Laura Gauché reassures herself and climbs, thanks to this third place, to 17th place in the downhill ranking with 121 points. In the general classification, the Savoyarde is 36ᵉ, with 184 points. At the end of the season, he will still have two downhill runs and three super-Gs, his two specialties, to shine again and continue to grab a few places in the standings.
