French skier Clément Noël won the first slalom of the World Cup ski season in Levi (Finland) on Sunday, recording his 11th victory on the circuit and his first since January 2023. The French Olympic champion beat Norwegian world champion Henrik Kristoffersen (+80 hundredths of a second) and Swiss Loïc Meillard (+95/100).

“It was a hard fight and I’m very happy with my second run. I knew Henrik had set the bar high and so I gave it my all because I knew it would be close.”he told the International Ski Federation. At the age of 27, Clément Noël is back on the winning track that eluded him all last season, even though he was often in the thick of things with four podium finishes.

Noël arrived “confident”.

“Last season wasn’t so bad, I just missed out on victory, often by very little. I had a good preparation which gave me confidence and I’ve skied very well these last few weeks so I’m happy that it showed today.”added the skier from Val d’Isère. On Sunday, in the spotlight of the small Lapland resort beyond the Arctic Circle, he built on his victory. with a superb first run despite a “unexceptional feeling”which gave him the fastest time. A leadership position he had already enjoyed in Levi in 2019, before giving way in the second run to take second place.

This time, he remained the strongest right to the end, avoiding mistakes in the second run to hold off Kristoffersen, who was masterful on the second run, where he set the fastest time. The Men’s Ski World Cup continues on November 24 with another slalom in Gurgl, Austria.