Born in Briançon in the Hautes-Alpes department of France, Alphand became world junior downhill champion in 1983 and made his senior World Cup debut in 1984. It took a decade of perseverance before he broke through at the top level, winning his first World Cup race at Kitzbühel in 1995.
From that point Alphand dominated the downhill circuit, claiming the overall downhill discipline title for three consecutive seasons. In 1997 he achieved something without precedent in World Cup history: he won the overall World Cup title by accumulating points exclusively in the two speed disciplines — downhill and super-G — without scoring in technical events. The achievement earned him the L'Équipe Champion of Champions award for 1997. The previous year he had taken a bronze medal in downhill at the 1996 World Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain.
His World Cup record totalled 12 victories — 10 in downhill, 2 in super-G — and 23 podium finishes overall (18 downhill, 5 super-G). In the French national championships he won the downhill title five times (1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1994), the super-G once (1988), and the combined once (1987). The village of Chantemerle in the Serre-Chevalier region, neighbouring his home town of Briançon, named an expert ski run in his honour.
His family has continued in elite sport: his daughter Estelle Alphand represents Sweden in the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, and his son Nils Alphand competed for France at the 2026 Olympics.
Alphand retired from competitive skiing after the 1997 season and turned to motorsport. He started in the Nissan Micra Stars Cup (1997–1998) before moving into endurance and rally competition. He raced in the European Le Mans Series in 2001, the FIA GT Championship in 2002, and the Lamborghini Supertrophy in 2002.
His most celebrated motorsport achievement came at the 2006 Dakar Rally, which he won after finishing runner-up the previous year. The victory made him the first former alpine ski racer to win the Dakar, underlining the breadth of his competitive ambitions. Following the Dakar win Alphand acquired two Corvette race cars from Pratt & Miller for use in the Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In June 2009 Alphand suffered severe back injuries in an accident during the Rand'Auvergne all-terrain motorcycle race. The injuries proved significant enough that in November 2010 he announced his retirement from competitive motorsport on medical grounds.
From 2021 to 2022 Alphand served as sporting director for the Silk Way Rally, a cross-country rally event running through Russia and Central Asia. He stepped down from the position following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In late 2022 he became team principal of Veloce Racing in the Extreme E electric off-road racing series.
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