'Emotional and nostalgic': French legend Alexis Pinturault announces retirement

Alexis Pinturault (FRA/ Head) has announced his retirement from competitive skiing, after a press conference in Courchevel.

The 34-year-old has had a brilliant career, making his first World Cup podium in 2011, and eventually making 77 podiums. He won 34 races, including six wins in 2016 and six in 2020. Pinturault lifted the Overall Audi FIS Crystal Globe in 2021.

He won three Olympic Games medals (a silver and two bronzes) across three Games, and went to seven World Championships, gathering eight medals including three golds. It made him the most successful French skier of all time.

“It is the right time, especially after returning from injury last year,” said Pinturault. “I’ve known for a long time that this season would be my last, but I preferred not to speak publicly about it, in order to avoid repeated questions throughout the season.

“My final competition will be in Åre. I will also start the Super G as a forerunner to greet the French fans and thank my club, my partners, the federation, my coaches, and my family.

“The decision goes back quite a while. Last year, when I was returning from injury, I was considering doing one or two seasons at most. Although the Olympic Games were in the back of my mind, the challenge of rebuilding and the time constraints did not make that goal achievable. I decided that now was the moment to make this choice. The carrot [to continue] is no longer big enough.

“It was never conceivable to continue until the 2030 Olympic Games. It was far too distant.”

Courchevel is the right place to make the announcement, and he will continue his strong association with the resort. “There is a strong family history built by my grandparents and continued by my father,” he said. “It is now the third generation, and there are family projects to develop.” 

Sharing his news with the team was “emotional and nostalgic” he added. His most memorable moments? ‘Winning the Overall Crystal Globe, my World Championship title at home, and my first victory on the World Cup circuit.”

“I am comfortable with the decision. The life of an athlete is a great privilege, but there are also many other things in life and significant sacrifices for families. At some point, you need to be more present for other aspects of life.”

He is happy if he has inspired youngsters at the Courchevel Club. “I never really measured the extent of my influence but in skiing, as in any sport, you are often inspired by someone. If my results have inspired many children in France and abroad, it makes me very happy." 

Pinturault was not the only notable retirement this week. 

Niels Hintermann (SUI/ Atomic) has also decided to step aside from competitive skiing, having been diagnosed with – and recovered from lymphoma – in 2024/25. The 30-year-old concluded that after all he’d been through, the risks associated with skiing were too high.

“Today it was easy to decide,” he said of his decision in Courchevel. “I found it really difficult the past weeks. I couldn’t decide for myself whether I should continue, or retire, but today it was clear – I wasn’t ready to risk any more my life, that I was gifted last year, a new life, a second life.

“The boys are so good, so fast, everything, and I am not ready any more. My brain and my body told it to me, quite frankly, and that’s why I’m happy, I’m good with myself, it was the right decision.”

His lessons from his decades on the piste, in which he made seven podiums, including three career wins, including two brilliant Downhills at Kvitfjell? “Everything, I did it for 30 years, more or less, racing as a child. I have experienced so much joy, so much pain, so many life lessons.

“That will help me for everything that is coming. All the people I was allowed to meet, all the teammates, all the racers. It was always a pleasure racing. I will miss everything but not racing any more. I’m excited about what’s to come, but I have no idea what is coming.”

The remarkable 41-year-old Adrien Theaux (FRA/ Salomon), meanwhile, has decided to finally hang up the skis, too. 

“I thought I will sleep well, but not really,” he said of the night before his last race in Courchevel. “It’s a special day, so it was a little bit different.

“I am lucky today, because I can do a free run inside the gates, thank you to the FIS and Courchevel. I can take pleasure today. It was my last inspection today and maybe for some guys it was the last time that we will see [each other].

“Everything has to end, and for me it is today. 22 years after my first World Cup, it’s a long way, it was very nice.

For sure I am happy, but it will be difficult at the start.”

Theaux has managed 334 World Cup starts, 13 podiums, three career wins,  and a bronze medal in the Super G at the 2015 World Championships. “I am very happy,” he said, reflecting on his career.

“When I compare, every time I want more and more, I compare [my career] to Marco [Odermatt] and it is nothing, but I did my best. It was my dream, to be in the World Cup.

“When I was young, my goal was to be in the world cup, in Kitzbuhel. I had the chance to be on the podium, it was amazing.”

Theaux was often referred to as the ‘daddy’ of the French team, and he spoke fondly of his squad. “It was not perfect every day. We lost someone, David Poisson [French skier who died in 2017].

But I have a good team, [they are] like my brothers, that’s why I’m still here. The daddy, or the grandfather sometimes they say. I tried to give my best to them.

“Now I’m not the best in the team. But I hope I give them something, because they gave me a lot. I feel young because they are young, so it was perfect, so thanks to them."