Cross-country skiing: Clément Parisse triumphs ahead of his team-mates at Les Saisies
The day after his solid victory alongside Mallory Moreau and Johan Calandry in the committee relay at the French cross-country skiing championships in Les Saisies (Savoie), Clément Parisse did it again on Sunday in the bright sunshine of the Beaufortain resort.
The Haut-Savoyard started in the right car at the front of the pack in the classic mass-start at the end of the race, and then made the race harder by hurting all his direct rivals. As on the previous day, it was on the downhill sections of the course that the 31-year-old cross-country skier made the difference.
“I tried to wear everyone down on the train and I think that surprised Rémi [Bourdin, editor’s note]. I tried to go fast on the downhill because that’s where the differences were made”, he explained to Nordic Magazine after climbing to the top step of the podium.
It was a fitting end to a winter that the Mégane-based player had to endure with little to show for his efforts. “I’m really happy to finish the season like this. It was something I really wanted to do. It hasn’t been the best season, so to finish on these good notes is really pleasing,” he admits. We were in very difficult conditions and it was hard to make any headway.
It was a competition that Clément Parisse shared with his compatriots Renaud Jay and Arnaud Chautemps, who retired at the end of the season: “When I joined the federation’s junior groups, Renaud was a little older than me. He was a source of inspiration. Then Arnaud came along and brought new blood into all the groups. They’re real friends and it was a pleasure to share this last race with them”, he confides.
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