Adrien Duvillard (père) - Adrien Duvillard Sr: Champion racer, Rossignol engineer

Adrien Duvillard Sr, who won every downhill on the European schedule in 1959, has died on the slopes of his home town Megève, of an apparent heart attack. He was 82.

At age 17, Duvillard was 1951 French National Champion in both slalom and GS. By 1955 he was growing strong in downhill, but as he noted years later, Toni Sailer and the Austrians already had Kofix (polyethylene) bases while the French team still used Cellulix (cellulose) bases. Real success came after Duvillard began testing aluminum skis for Emile Allais at Rossignol. With the new skis, he won the French national downhill title – and then every European downhill he entered, including the Arlberg-Kandahar at Sestriere, and, with a slalom win at Kitzbühel, the Hahnenkamm combined trophy. He also won the Harriman Cup in Sun Valley.

One race eluded him. At the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics, he was heavily favored to win the downhill. Teammate Jean Vuarnet had already set the fastest time. At the halfway mark, Duvillard was 1.7 second faster. Coach Emile Allais was supposed to signal him to take it easy through the Camel Bumps, but Duvillard got there before Allais was ready. He launched into the bumps far too fast, lost the line and went off course.

In 1958, Duvillard married Andrée Sulpice and they had two children, Fabienne and Laurent. In 1962, Rossignol sent him to North America to compete on the original pro racing circuit. Duvillard became World Pro Champion in 1963, 1965 and 1969.  

In 1965, Andrée died in an auto accident. Two years later, Duvillard met and married Eva Foeger, daughter of Jay Peak’s Walter Foeger. Their son Adrien, Jr. was born in 1969. In the spring of 1970, Duvillard won the Lange Cup in Vail – and retired from racing at age 35 (his younger brother Henri – known as Dudu -- won 35 pro races between 1974 and 1977).

Duvillard supervised the on-snow test programs that developed several generations of Rossignol skis, from the Strato through the early shaped skis.

In 1998, Adrien and Eva Duvillard bought a ranch near Durango, Colorado, where they stabled five riding horses and adopted mustangs.

In addition to his wife Eva, Duvillard is survived by his children Fabienne, Laurent and Adrien Jr (and their spouses); eight grandchildren; and numerous siblings, nieces and nephews. –Seth Masia

Read the Skiing Heritage biography.

LE SCAN SPORT - L'ex-triple champion du monde de ski est décédé mardi à l'âge de 82 ans, victime d'un malaise sur une piste de ski dans la station de Megève.

Le ski français vit décidément un début d'année 2017 bien sombre. Après la disparition de Jean Vuarnet le 2 janvier après un accident vasculaire cérébral, c'est un autre champion du cirque blanc qui s'est éteint. Adrien Duvillard, trois fois champion du monde de ski alpin Adrien Duvillard est décédé mardi à l'âge de 82 ans, victime d'un malaise sur une piste de ski du domaine de Megève, en Haute-Savoie.

Adrien Duvillard est passé professionnel en 1962, après neuf années comme membre des équipes de France de ski mais sans briller lors des jeux Olympiques de 1956 et 1960. Il est en revanche devenu ensuite champion du monde professionnel en 1963, 1965 et 1969. Élu meilleur skieur mondial en 1960, le Haut-Savoyard a remporté quelques-unes des plus belles classiques du circuit, en descente, slalom ou combiné, de Kitzbühel à Val d'Isère, en passant par Sestrières ou Val Gardena.

Père d'Adrien Duvillard junior, champion de ski comme lui

Fils de l'un des premiers moniteurs de ski de France, il est le père du skieur Adrien Duvillard junior, âgé de 48 ans et retiré du circuit. «Il aimait raconter qu'il avait su mettre à profit les conditions de neige difficiles des fins de journées pour améliorer sa technique et repousser ses limites», a souligné la municipalité de Megève, où le champion a grandi. Plus récemment, il avait reçu le titre de Gloire du Sport en 2011 pour l'ensemble de sa carrière.