Matthieu Bailet: “When I’m smiling, I’m quick on skis”

On the eve of his departure for the United States, where the season will open on November 28 with a Super-G at Copper Mountain, Matthieu Bailet reflects on his summer: three second-place finishes in the South American Cup in Chile, two training camps in Europe and a new work focus centered on freedom and pleasure.

Matthieu Bailet experienced a winter 2025-2026 in two phases. At 30 years old, the Nice native is approaching his new season with a new technician for his skis and objectives that are no longer measured solely in rankings, but in sensations. A few days away from flying to the United States, the Maralpin takes stock of his summer, what has changed around him and the ambitions of a winter that will take him to the World Championships in Crans-Montana, in early February.

How did your summer preparation go?

« Honestly, well. We were a bit stressed at first because this is the first time I think we didn’t manage to ski in Europe before heading to our most important training camp in the southern hemisphere. In the end, it didn’t cause any major problems. We arrived in Chile in great conditions, and we managed to get some really great training days out of it. We really had great preparation in Chile. So that’s positive, it’s really what forms the heart of our preparation. The physical preparation part also went very well.

And then, I’ve just come out of two shorter training camps in Europe, in Switzerland and Italy, where we went back to the basics, especially in giant slalom, which did a lot of good since it remains the foundation of skiing and that’s where we really position ourselves technically. So, positive. And right now I can’t wait to refine this preparation with this training phase in the United States on the eve of the new season.

You’ve had some great performances in the South American Cup, how are your sensations?

It was cool, actually, down there. We have continental races, like the European Cup races we have here, and it allows us to take the temperature a bit, not in the sense of “if we have good races down there, it announces a good season,” but more to show that the work direction and the objectives set for this preparation season were the right ones. I started three races with three podiums, so that’s encouraging. It doesn’t predict anything about the upcoming World Cup season, because they’re really two very different worlds. On the other hand, it was extremely encouraging.

Last season, you said that you regained 80 to 90% confidence fairly quickly, but that “the last step” required much more time. Today, do you think you’re at 100%?

No, today, my focus and real confidence are truly in the work direction we’ve set for ourselves, with personal success objectives, whether on the technical side, also on equipment, and also on a subject that encompasses the psychological and mental aspect in a more general way.

I’m extremely confident about the direction we’ve chosen, the amount of work too, honestly, and the investment on each of these subjects. After that, the truth will come this winter in the races, and the only thing I can do is work on my approach, on the way I approach it.

Last winter, you kept Livigno and Val Gardena as references because you had found there “the skiing that suits you.” What does this skiing feel like in sensations? And how can you find it again from the first race of the winter?

The sensations I found at Val Gardena and Livigno, and I’ve also found them in 99% of the run on official training sessions, like at Courchevel, or later on intermediate sections, on certain parts of races, even at one point on a Kitzbühel training run, where I win all the intermediate times except one, in the middle. So we know the skiing is there.

Now, the objective has been to identify how to make this type of skiing more consistent. What’s been very interesting is the whole subject of psychological and mental work. It’s about accepting that ultimately, the pressure of results is no longer something that purely drives me, but that maybe constrains me a little. Because every time I manage to express my skiing, to be fast, I feel free, and every time I allow myself to take risks and everything doesn’t necessarily go as planned. That’s the nature of an outdoor sport, an individual sport, and it’s something you have to accept.

I had to translate this desire, this ambition for results into new personal objectives. This season, the goal is to rediscover this sense of freedom and allow myself to take risks, to go play up front, even if, of course, an error can happen. I won’t necessarily always make the right choices, whether tactical, equipment… At some point, you have to maybe accept that part of it to put all the odds on my side and dare.

We talked about confidence. Two years ago at Crans-Montana, you treated us to a spectacular jump with an extreme landing. Today, at 30 years old, after everything you’ve been through, is “Bailet Airlines” still in service?

Yes, absolutely, Bailet Airlines is still in service (laughs). The idea is to find stability in this type of skiing and especially because that’s where I thrive. When, at some point, I was trying not to make mistakes, to do things right, it didn’t work. In a sport as risky and dangerous as skiing, as soon as you tense up a bit, as soon as you hold back a little, especially since we’re a sliding sport, a sport where you have to commit, where you have to be fully in the moment. As soon as you hold back a bit, it doesn’t work. So it was really about finding a way to express what I wanted to achieve and how I wanted to do it especially. And then after the result, a mistake, no mistake, we’ll talk about that after crossing the finish line.

And physically are the lights green?

Yeah, honestly, physically, in general, it’s going well. After, it’s a sport that’s extremely taxing, we go through moments where everything is going extremely well and then moments where the body suffers a little more depending on conditions. Everything is under control. After, we know that I have a weakness in my back, it’s starting to show its head a bit, I just need to keep managing it well.

Super-G carried your 2025-2026 season, while downhill was a bit less fluid. What objectives are you setting for yourself this winter in both disciplines?

The idea is not to make a difference. Of course, I’m starting from a bit further back in downhill since I’m not yet in the top 30 in the World Cup in downhill. In Super-G, I’ll dive right in with very interesting bibs. The idea is precisely to disregard all of that.

Last year, in downhill, there were very complicated conditions, especially early in the season for higher bibs. Actually, all these parameters I have no influence over. My goal is to be opportunistic, to look for the moment when there are favorable conditions, to express my skiing, to play, to find this freedom to allow myself to take risks. I’m repeating myself, but that’s because the objective is really there and honestly, that’s what this preparation was about because we saw that ultimately, it’s by focusing on that that I manage to go fast. And then afterwards, we’ll take stock after each race, after the Worlds and after the season and see the progress that was made.

« As for the Federation, there’s a side of confidence, professionalism in which I have major doubts and I don’t want to base myself on that.«

Regarding the French team management, you had said there was a “need for freshness.” Have things evolved?

So, to be completely honest, when they sent us the decisions made, there was a bit of disappointment. Not to mince words, no change, simply two European Cup coaches who moved up to World Cup, one who came back down. On paper like that, it wasn’t very attractive.

And today, I have to admit that, honestly, the two coaches who moved up brought a certain serenity, an openness in the discourse, a bit of calm. I find that their arrival was much more positive than what I expected.

You missed the Olympics last winter in a frustrating context, particularly regarding selection criteria. On the eve of this season’s start, are things clearer for you?

Yes, it was the main difficulty of last season. It was my first non-selection in my career across all competitions. It wasn’t linked to a purely sporting factor, since by the criteria given at the start of the season, I was in them, but rather to a human factor. That’s part of my career and today, it’s been completely accepted. Like many other difficulties I’ve had to face in my life that are part of my journey and have allowed me to build myself and be who I am today.

Was there clarification with the French team?

We talked. After guaranteeing that it won’t happen again, honestly, the confidence… Already, mistakes are human and then after, today, honestly, I prefer to focus 100% on my skiing, how to achieve the best results, the performance and make myself clearly indisputable for the next selections. As for the Federation, there’s a side of confidence, professionalism in which I have major doubts and I don’t want to base myself on that.

This summer, there was a lot of talk about you after the announcement of your relationship with Lindsey Vonn. Is she helping you in any way to prepare for the upcoming season?

All I can tell you today is that between us, things are going very well and that I’m happy in my life.

You also saw the Vuelta prologue, the Monaco GP in the Audi stand, tried surfing… How important is it for you to draw inspiration from other disciplines to then improve your performance on skis?

I discovered different approaches. The event side like the Monaco Grand Prix. Unfortunately, I didn’t get in the Formula 1 (laughs)! On the other hand, I was impressed to see how much drivers have to manage a quantity of events around them up to 30 minutes before their start. And then of course, with certain sports I can practice like tennis, cycling, surfing, even skydiving which was really a magnificent experience for me this year. It was also a work focus on wanting to seek versatility to find even more relaxation and adaptation when I return to skis.

A few words to describe the winter that’s coming?

Luminous, breathtaking, fulfillment.

Why “fulfillment”?

The idea is really to feel happy, free and fulfilled on skis. If I cross the finish line with a smile, there’s not a single time in my career where the result was bad. That’s why I refocused the objectives not just on the expectation of a result, but more on the expectation of a sensation and an experience. And the objective is clearly there. When I’m smiling, I feel fulfilled and when I’m smiling, I’m fast on skis.«