Benoit Valentin, one of the French freestyle halfpipe skiing specialists

A skier addicted to freestyle

Originally from La Plagne, Benoit started alpine skiing at an early age. Pretty soon, "going around red and blue gate poles all day" did not interest him so much any more. He started freestyle skiing at the age of 10 at the sports club at his resort La Plagne. At the beginning, Ben practised hills, slopestyle and halfpipe like everyone. At 15, he decided to dedicate himself to freestyle skiing in halfpipe that he particularly liked. Attracted by the most exciting side of this discipline, he started practising it immediately and has not gotten bored yet.

Freestyle halfpipe skiing, a discipline that emerged in the late 1990s, entered the Olympic family in 2014 at the Sochi Olympics. 18-year-old Ben Valentin, who won the Crystal Globe three years ago, is the up-and-coming star of the discipline.

His most memorable victory is the famous crystal globe he won at his own station in 2011 and which propelled him to be the winner of the 2011 World Cup.

From the Freeski project to international podiums

After many years of training with the La Plagne Sports Club and the Savoie Committee, he participated in the Freeski project with Kevin Rolland, Xavier Breton, Thomas Krief and Greg Guenet. He then took first place in the general classification of the SFR Freeskiing Tour. It was then that Benoit decided to turn towards international competitions. Thanks to the hard training, his unfailing motivation and his very present team, he has fulfilled his dream of becoming a professional skier.

With 10 World Cup podiums to his name, Ben is now one of the best freestylers in the world within a strong French freestyle ski team.

Some unusual facts about Ben:
• He describes himself as a "Free Racer" and his friends call him Pti Ben.
• To better understand the risk of losing his bearings during his jumps, Ben performs specific training on trampolines and water-jumps.
• Marking is probably one of the words he used the most in 2010.
• Apart from downhill skiing, he also practices tennis and free falling.

Titles under his belt

OLYMPIC GAMES
10th at Sochi 2014 Olympic Games

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
8th in 2017 (Sierra Nevada, Spain)
8th in 2011 (Par City Mountain Resort, USA)

WORLD CUP
3rd place World Cup 2017 (Pyeongchang, South Korea)
4th place SFR Freestyle Tour 2017
3rd place World Cup 2016 (Tignes, France)
2nd place World Cup 2016 (Park City, USA)
Winner of the 2011 Crystal Globe
10 podiums including 4 silver medals and 6 bronze medals

X GAMES
3rd at the Winter X Games in Aspen 2016

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