It’s simply impossible not liking Maurice Manificat, the adorable French guy has had a solid World Cup season so far and claimed third spot in the first Tour de Ski stage. In this writing moment he’s currently ranked fifth in the overall Tour de Ski standing, which is exactly where he aims to be. “I’ve had a good season so far, and I hope to continue this way, especially in this tour. I really hope this is going to be MY season”.
Reflecting back on the year of 2011, Maurice has several special memories to look back on. His 6th place in 15 km at the World Ski Championship in Oslo is one of them. “There’s a lot of good things that happened last year, but my race in Oslo and my 2nd place in Davos are probably the best ones” Maurice says. At the age of 25, the young French man already has several World Cup podiums on his CV. On the first day of 2012, Maurice hopes that this will be a year to remember. “I aim for top 10 in Tour de Ski, but I also want to be on the final podium in the overall World Cup”.
The French guys seem to have a great team spirit. When Maurice took third spot in the first Tour de Ski stage, his service man Claude came down to the stadium with a French flag to congratulate his athlete. These small things are something that Maurice appreciates, and as he said earlier, there’s no need for big waxing trucks if you have great waxing staff in the service containers. “We have a really good “embiance” in the French team. The staff and the team is really close to each other. Claude is always really happy, and it gives me a good feeling by being on the podium”.
With 6 stages to go on Tour de Ski, Maurice wants to improve his skiing in Val di Fiemme. “I hope to be better in sprint this time, but also do better in Val di Fiemme. The last two years I didn’t have a good feeling in the end of the Tour. I like the final climb, and I look forward to this stage”.
The French team started the Tour with 6 guys, where Maurice is the biggest star at the moment. Cross-Country skiing is still a popular sport in France, and Maurice wants to make his country proud by performing well in Tour de Ski. “Personally, it would be great to get a good position in Tour de Ski. For the team it would be a great thing if I won. We are all working hard to make things work”.
Tour de Ski is more than skiing, with four different locations it’s a great deal of travelling. By spending a lot of time in the car, Maurice and his team mates have their own way of killing time in the car. “We listen to music and we play a lot of cards. I have to admit though; I’m a better skier than a card player. We do our best to entertain ourselves; some sleep is required as well”.
Maurice took the opportunity to wish everyone a happy New Year, may all his wishes for 2012 come true….
Sofie Torlei Olsen
