Cortina 2021 breaks ground on new venue

On Thursday, Aug. 3, the work for the realization of the Vertigine track at the site of the 2021 World Ski Championships in Cortina, Italy, officially began. The new slope will host the men’s giant slalom and slalom competitions at the World Ski Championships in 2021. This is the first construction project for the race areas of the traditional women’s World Cup venue, which was decided following the information received from the FIS coordination group meeting with the organizing committee in Cortina in early June to assess the degree of slope and finish area development.

The Vertigine track, which will be located on the Tofana di Mezzo peak with a start elevation of 2373 meters (7785 feet), ends by crossing the Stratofana Olimpica track and will share the finish at 1568 meters (5144 feet), for a vertical drop of 805 meters (2641 feet) over a total length of more than 2.5 km (1.5 miles), with a maximum slope of 62 percent and an average of 31.6 percent.

The first part of the construction will take place over the next two and a half months by the construction firm of Mair Josef & Co. Sas of Prato allo Stelvio, who specialize in this type of infrastructure.

“In July, we completed all the administrative projects related to the slope projects for the World Championships 2021 and today they begin their work,” said Paolo Nicoletti, managing director of the Cortina 2021 Foundation. “We in the foundation all worked diligently and in close cooperation with all parties involved. Thank you for the great collaboration, and I believe that the suggestions made by the FIS have been taken into consideration and that the urgent times required by the International Federation are fully respected. ”

“Making the event spectacular, cost containment, and environmental care are the criteria that inspire all of our decisions,” continued Nicoletti. “The Vertigine track is an extraordinary example of harmonious integration of new infrastructure in the original area.”

“In the coming weeks, we will be committed to finalizing the work plan with the detail of the costs and the prioritization of the World Championships,” explains Alberto Ghezze, sports director of the Cortina 2021 Foundation. “It was the FIS who asked us for very technical track, what was in line with the differences required by the rules international skiing. We can work just under six months a year and finish the Vertigine, so we can do all possible tests for what will be the Italian alpine skiing championships in 2019.”

Release courtesy of FISI