French · Moûtiers, Savoie, France · Born 20 March 1991French alpine skier and the most successful French World Cup racer in history, the 2021 overall World Cup champion who retired in 2026 after a 17-year career across every discipline.
Alexis Pinturault was born on 20 March 1991 in Moûtiers, Savoie, and grew up in Courchevel, where his father owned a hotel. His mother is Norwegian, giving him dual citizenship and childhood summers spent in Norway. He made his World Cup debut in March 2009 in Åre, Sweden, just before his 18th birthday, having already won World Junior giant slalom gold that season, a title he successfully defended in 2011. Pinturault built a reputation as one of the most versatile skiers of his generation, competing across all four disciplines during an era dominated by Austria's Marcel Hirscher. He finished runner-up in the overall World Cup standings for two consecutive seasons before Hirscher's retirement opened the door, and on his 30th birthday in March 2021 he won the giant slalom at the World Cup Finals in Lenzerheide to clinch his first overall title, the first Frenchman to do so in 24 years since Luc Alphand, and only the third ever after Alphand and Jean-Claude Killy. Across three Olympic Games between 2014 and 2022, Pinturault won giant slalom bronze medals at both Sochi and Pyeongchang plus a silver in the alpine combined in 2018. He also won three World Championship titles - combined gold in 2019 and again on home snow at Courchevel in 2023, plus team gold in 2017 - accumulating eight World Championship medals overall. After a serious knee injury in the Kitzbühel super-G in 2024 disrupted his final seasons, Pinturault announced his retirement in March 2026, closing out an 18-year career with 34 World Cup victories, 77 podiums, and 355 World Cup starts, cementing his status as France's most successful alpine skier ever.
Becoming the most successful French alpine skier in World Cup history and winning the 2021 overall World Cup title
How They Played
Complete, adaptable skier equally competitive in technical and combined events, renowned for tactical composure and sustained consistency across a full World Cup season
Lasting Impact
Remembered as one of the last true all-around racers of the modern era, whose versatility and consistency across every discipline made him a mainstay of the World Cup podium for nearly two decades
Career Honours
- 2021 Overall World Cup Champion
- 3x World Championship Gold Medalist (2017 Team, 2019 & 2023 Combined)
- 3x Olympic Medalist (2014, 2018)
- France's most successful World Cup skier in history with 34 victories
French Athletes