On the Zhangjiakou Olympic Trail, the 21-year-old Swedish adjudged to the Canadian Mikaël Kingsbury, Master of the Discipline for nearly ten years.
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A fourth place that has, despite everything, a taste of victory. Released by the small door of the qualifications in Pyeongchang, in 2018, the Skiing Skier Benjamin Cavet failed (79.44 points) at the foot of the Podium of the Beijing Olympics on Saturday, February 5th, on the icy track of the Genting Snow Park. Zhangjiakou.
The Swedish Walter Wallberg (21, 83.23 points) aggregated against all odds, in front of the ultra favorite of the competition, the Canadian Mikaël Kingsbury (82,18), Olympic Champion in title and master of the discipline for almost ten years. Japanese Ikuma Horishima (81,48) completes the podium. The other Frenchman engaged Saturday, Sacha Theocharis, 31, finished 11 e of the final.
At 28, Benjamin Cavet, despite his disappointment, can however be satisfied with the last round of the Olympic event. In 2014, in Sochi (Russia), the skier of Châtel (Haute-Savoie) had finished at the eighth place. Four years later, in South Korea, the native of Kent (United Kingdom), naturalized French at its 18th birthday, did not hoisted in the final, taking the e place at the ‘outcome of qualifications.
“I could draw a lot of lessons and applies them this year,” he said before the competition. The French most found the springs to silence the critics that wondered about its ability to find the summits after a start of the season more than mixed.
Only one podium in the World Cup (3 e in Sweden) in December 2021, a sad ninth place in the general classification: the booty was very skinny for the vice-champion of the World of bump skiing in 2021 before landing in China. “A start of the season not up to what I wanted,” he admitted Wednesday in visioconference of press, just before his entry into the Olympic competition.
“I arrived in trust”
Benjamin Cavenet fails at the foot of the Olympic podium, Saturday, February 5th. Marco Bertorello / AFP
On the bumps of Zhangjiakou, Benjamin Cavet had perfectly started his competition, classifying third of the qualifications Thursday night. The first contact with the Chinese artificial snow had been, with its own admission, excellent. “Just before the qualifiers, I really did crazy workouts. Suddenly, I arrived in trust,” he enjoyed, adding: “I arrive here in my best shape of the season.”
But Saturday, the French, who, however, realized his best performance in China during his last passage (run), has nothing to reproach himself: relegated to more than two points of the podium, his opponents of the evening were simply superior.
The “Bosser” of Châtel suffered up to there are few pain at a heel that hinders him for several weeks. “It’s not very serious, but relatively annoying in a sport like ours where we know a lot of shocks,” relativated his coach Ludovic Didier before the games.
With Perrine Laffont, Sunday, February 6, the blue technician has another very beautiful card to play. Olympic champion in title, the Ariège can write the story of his sport if she realizes the double.
