Luc Alphand (born 6 August 1965) is a former

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

alpine ski racer from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He specialized in the speed events and later became a

race car driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

Ski racing

Born in

Briançon Briançon (, ) is the sole subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an altitude of , based on the national definition as a community cont ...

(

Hautes-Alpes Hautes-Alpes (; oc, Auts Aups; en, Upper Alps) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. It is located in the heart of the French Alps, after which it is named. Hautes-Alpes had a population of 141,220 ...

), Alphand was world junior champion in 1983 and made his World Cup debut in 1984. It took a decade for him to make his breakthrough winning his first world cup at Kitzbühel 1995, and going on to take the overall downhill title 3 years in a row. In

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

he won the World Cup overall title by collecting points only in the two speed disciplines, downhill and super G – a unique achievement in World Cup history. For this accomplishment he was voted L'Equipe Champion of Champions in 1997. The previous year he won a bronze medal at the 1996 World Championships at

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primar ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. In the village of Chantemerle (which neighbours his home town of

in the

Serre-Chevalier Serre Chevalier () is a major ski resort in Southeastern France, near the Italian border, located in the Hautes-Alpes department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated to the northeast of Écrins National Park in the French Alps, the res ...

region) an expert ski run has been named in his honour. His daughter,

Estelle Alphand Estelle Erika Ainee Alphand (born 23 April 1995) is a French-born Swedish alpine skier, who competes in all events. She was born in Briançon, France, and she is the daughter of the former alpine skier and rally driver Luc Alphand. She has repre ...

, represents Sweden in FIS Alpine Ski World Cup.

World Cup results

Season standings

Season titles

Race victories

*12 wins (10 DH, 2 SG) *23 podiums (18 DH, 5 SG)

Other results

* Junior World Champion of the downhill in 1983 * French Alpine Skiing Championship ** Champion of the downhill in 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1994 ** Champion of the super-G in 1988 ** Champion of combined in 1987

Auto racing

He retired from competitive skiing in 1997 and started a career in auto racing. First in the Nissan Micra Stars Cup (1997–1998), then in the

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the ...

(2001), the

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

(2002), and the Lamborghini Supertrophy (2002). He won the

2006 Dakar Rally The 2006 Dakar Rally, also known as the 2006 Paris-Dakar Rally, was the 28th running of the Dakar Rally event. The 2006 event ran from 31 December 2005 to 15 January 2006. It started from Lisbon, Portugal, and passed through Spain, Morocco, Mali, M ...

, in which he had finished runner-up a year earlier. With this victory, he was the first ex-skier to win the Paris-Dakar. He recently purchased two Corvette race cars from Pratt & Miller for use in the

Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

and

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

. Alphand suffered severe back injuries in an accident on the Rand'Auvergne all-terrain motorcycle race on 27 June 2009. In November 2010 he retired from competitive auto racing due to health reasons.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Dakar Rally results

References

External links

* *
Luc Alphand
World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation * *
Luc Alphand – Valeo MotorSports

Luc Alphand and Valeo – 24H of Le Mans {{DEFAULTSORT:Alphand, Luc 1965 births Living people People from Briançon French male alpine skiers French racing drivers FIA GT Championship drivers Off-road racing drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Dakar Rally drivers Dakar Rally winning drivers European Le Mans Series drivers Porsche Supercup drivers FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions 24 Hours of Spa drivers Alpine skiers at the 1988 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1992 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiers of France Sportspeople from Hautes-Alpes