Sawt Falasteen - France skier Pinturault to come back, but only in giant slalom

"The ideal is for me to focus on what I do best, where I've always been the best and where I'll still be in the top 30 when next season starts," Pinturault told reporters.

The 33-year-old three-time Olympic medallist sustained a fracture of the internal tibial plateau in the right knee in his crash in January.

He hit icy ruts worsened by heavy rain that bucked him backwards and forced him, sliding, into the safety netting in the Austrian ski resort.

Pinturault, who had been making his comeback after rupturing a knee ligament a year ago, was evacuated by helicopter.

The Frenchman, who has notched up 34 victories on the World Cup circuit, insisted he did not want to call time on his career on the back of an injury, with participation at next year's Winter Olympics in Milan/Cortina d'Ampezzo an added goal.

"I had to find the desire again and it came back more easily when I saw that the injury is far from being as serious as what I experienced last season," he said, adding that he expected a return to racing in a month.

Pinturault said that it is "very likely that next season will be my last".

"I have in a way come full circle in my sport. Today I am motivated by not calling time thanks to an injury, motivated by the Olympic Games."

R.Halabi--SF-PST