Busy Bilodeau: Two-time Olympic moguls champ excited about future plans

TORONTO – Now that Alex Bilodeau’s dream season is complete, the Canadian moguls star is turning his focus to the future.

The two-time Olympic champion has been retired for just over a week but he still has a lot on his plate. He’ll spend the next few months preparing for his wedding this summer before resuming his accounting studies at Concordia University.

Bilodeau recently capped his successful freestyle skiing career in style by winning his final World Cup event in France.

“It’s my last season, my last lap around and I wanted to give it all and show how good I can be on my way out and really enjoy it,” he said Tuesday after an appearance at a downtown department store.

“That’s been my thing. I do sport because I love it, because it’s fun and having fun was a big part of finishing strong.”

Bilodeau will also keep busy this spring with appearances at conferences, schools and promotional stops for sponsors. The 26-year-old from Rosemere, Que., is also getting things in order for his July wedding to Sabrina Bizier in Montreal.

“I’ve got a lot of things on my plate with her also,” he said with a laugh. “She’s been waiting and pushing (wedding) stuff all the way to the end and worked a lot. I actually had the excuse of going to the Olympics and I didn’t want to get too involved. Now I don’t have that excuse anymore so she’s really slamming me with decisions.”

Bilodeau considered retirement from his sport after winning gold at the Vancouver Games before deciding to carry on for one last Olympic hurrah. He knew that he could improve and wanted to prove it in Sochi.

“I really believe that I (reached) my full potential,” Bilodeau said of his Sochi experience. “And I need new challenges in life. I’ve been aiming for Olympic gold since I was seven years old. Doing something different will be refreshing for me. I want to show that I’m not only Alex the skier, I can be Alex the something else in life.

“Skiing is what I do, it’s not who I am. So I really need something refreshing and something new.”

He’ll return to school on a full-time basis this fall and plans to take two or three years to complete his studies. The 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics won’t be far off when he graduates.

Bilodeau does not plan to give it one more go if he gets that Olympic itch again.

“Every day I’ve got my skis on, I want to be the best in the world. Starting from today, I won’t,” he said. “For the first time, the next time I put my skis on I won’t want to be the best in the world.

“I know I’ve achieved (being) the best skier I can be and I’m really happy about that.”

While there won’t be a three-peat in four years time, the gold medal could still end up in Canadian hands. Bilodeau’s teammate, Mikael Kingsbury, won silver in Sochi and later picked up his third straight World Cup overall title.

Kingsbury should be hitting his prime for the 2018 Games.

“It’s simple. He’s the most talented kid in our sport — in the history of our sport,” Bilodeau said. “He’s still young, he’s still 21 years old and still improving. That’s what scary. He’s going to dominate.”

Bilodeau leaves the sport content with his many accomplishments, including 48 World Cup podium appearances and 19 World Cup victories.

“For me, I’ve done what I had to do and I’ll be cheering very hard (in 2018),” he said. “I’ve got no regrets. A third Olympic gold medal wouldn’t change the person I am. But having a personal goal that’s different than skiing, I would be more happy about it.”