French skier Alexis Pinturault is flown off the slopes after a terrifying crash that left him tumbling 50 meters… just six days after becoming a father for the first time

French skier Alexis Pinturault crashed during a World Cup super-G race on Friday and was flown off the course, just six days after becoming a father for the first time.

Pinturault, the 2021 overall World Cup champion and three-time Olympic medalist, crashed landing the Silberhorn jump as he approached the final section of the legendary Lauberhorn course in Wengen.

He leaned back on his skis before hitting the snow. His skis came off as he tumbled down the mountain, sliding about 50 meters before coming to a stop.

Race workers placed a warming blanket over Pinturault as they waited for a helicopter to land along the course and take him to a hospital. The race was postponed about 25 minutes.

32-year-old Pinturault and his wife Romane welcomed their daughter Olympe in the Swiss capital Bern last Saturday.

Pinturault came off a jump during a Super-G race on the Lauberhorn course in Wengen

Pinturault’s skis came off, causing him to tumble and slide 50 meters (over 160 feet)

Medics attended to the French star, which led to the Super-G race being stopped for 25 minutes

Medics prepare French skier Alexis Pinturault to be taken by helicopter to a local hospital

He was taken by helicopter to a local hospital and his condition is currently unknown

A medical helicopter transports Alexis Pinturault to a local hospital in Switzerland

A few days ago, Pinturault celebrated the birth of his first child on social media

The Super-G is a fast downhill event where racers are given just one run to set a time

That day he was going to race a giant slalom in nearby Adelboden. Romane Pinturault travels with her husband as part of his entourage and handles media relations.

Pinturault returned to racing on Thursday with a career-best downhill result of ninth in Wengen.

He has rarely raced the major speed discipline in his long career, but is now concentrating on it and no longer races slalom.

Pinturault’s 34 career World Cup victories, including one in super-G. Last year he also took bronze in super-G at the world championships in his hometown of Courchevel.

Super-G is an event similar to the downhill discipline of skiing, with the key difference being that racers make only one run to clock the fastest time.

That has led to the event becoming one of the most dangerous, with racers routinely reaching speeds of over 60mph.

According to an assessment of injury severity by the National Institutes of Health in the United States, Super-G skiers sustain an injury rate of 11.1 injuries per 1,000 runs.

Only in alpine skiing – where racers reach much higher speeds – is the injury rate higher (18.1 injuries per 1,000 runs). The two other alpine skiing disciplines – giant slalom and slalom – both have significantly lower risk (9.5 injuries per 1,000 runs and 4.0 injuries per 1,000 runs, respectively).