29 year old Antoine is an engineer at Wed’ze. At the brand’s design premises, based in the Mont Blanc valley, Antoine spends his day dreaming up the skiing and snowboarding shoes of tomorrow, and conducts field testing on products under development.
“I decided to do this wonderful job, which I’ve been able to combine with my other passion,” he explains. A competing sportsperson, Antoine is also a fan of a little-known discipline: telemark skiing.
Telemark: Freedom and balance
Well before he became an engineer, Antoine was taking part in alpine skiing competitions at a young age. At 15, however, he discovered telemark skiing: “It’s the forerunner of skiing – it’s the link between cross-country, alpine and ski jumping. Only the toes are fixed to the ski, with the heel left free. Skiers turn on bends by using a lunging motion. There is greater freedom of movement than with standard skiing, and skiers are much closer to the snow. Straight away I fell for the beauty and elegance of the sport,” he remembers.
It was a passion that would take him far: in 2013 he won the world cup in the parallel sprint, before finishing third at the world championships in 2015. It’s been an experience that has also benefitted his work as an engineer at Wed’ze: “It’s given me an excellent understanding of terrain, and skiing itself. My competitive drive also helps me to give it my all in every single project.”
Antoine retired from competitive skiing this year but still enjoys telemark skiing, both freeride and touring, when he has time. His passion for telemark skiing has morphed into a fresh ambition: “I now want to pass on my experience to young kids, and make the sport more accessible.”
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