Featured image provided by Matterhorn Cervino Speed Opening

Yesterday’s excellent conditions set the stage for the first training run at the new international border-crossing downhill race course. However, heavy snowfall forced the cancellation of men’s training on Thursday. The organizers have scheduled one more official training day for Friday, gearing up for the much-anticipated inaugural men’s World Cup downhill weekend on November 11-12. Excitement builds as athletes prepare to tackle the unfamiliar course and compete at the highest level. FIS Race Director Hannes Trinkl shares first-hand impressions of the new Gran Becca course and the current weather developments in a conversation with Ski Racing Media.

The scene for the new Gran Becca downhill course is impressive: Between tall, rugged mountaintops near the foot of the iconic Matterhorn Cervino Mountain, with a starting point in Switzerland at 3,720 meters/12,205 feet and with the finish at 2,840 meters/9,318 feet in Italy. The course length measures 3.8 kilometers/2.36 miles from that starting point with an 880-meter vertical drop.

On a clear day, the racers have an incredible view from the start, overlooking beautiful mountains surrounding them, some peaks rising high but below them.

Great interest

Many have welcomed the new addition to the World Cup speed event calendar, while some have been skeptical. The interest in the new Matterhorn Cervino downhill venue has been significant for several years during its development. Its uniqueness includes the first-ever World Cup course-crossing national borders, the high-altitude location, the early season start, the extensive length of the course, including a glacier at the top section and then transferring to a mix of artificial and natural snow in the lower sections.

Additionally, a few weeks ago, there was a controversy over part of the course construction, and the local Swiss building authorities conducted investigations before the course work could continue.

Finally, on Wednesday, November 8, the first-ever official World Cup training run took place on the Gran Becca course at the Matterhorn Cervino Speed Opening. After the training run in great conditions, the US team shared their impressions with SRM., Stifel U.S. Men’s Speed Team Gears Up for Zermatt-Cervinia Debut

Winter Wonderland

Warm weather and a lack of snow in the lower course section led to the cancellation of last year’s races. This year’s race weekends have been shifted deeper into November to avoid similar issues.

Now, the main element that might put a stop to the scheduled race is precisely that – snowfall. Snowfall forced the cancellation of today’s training run. More heavy snow is likely in the next few days, possibly causing additional disruptions.

“Today, we have a very nice winter day,” Hannes Trinkl says when describing the current weather while talking with SRM during a telephone conversation from Zermatt on Thursday afternoon, Central European time. He adds: “This is like it is this time of the year at a glacier. You can have really nice days, but on the other hand, you can have some snowfall.

“That’s what we’re working on and dealing with, and we try to do our best. The organizers are working really hard, and then we’ll see what will happen in the next few days. Weather is always a challenge at this altitude.”

Several start options

The local organizers initially wanted to start the downhill at 3,800 meters/12,467 feet. However, FIS and the organizers have lowered the men’s start to 3,720 meters/12,205 feet. This change is due to the course’s length and its vulnerability to wind on the Gobba di Rollin mountain, according to a news release from the local organizers. The first training run started from this lower start on Wednesday.

FIS has also approved a second, lower reserve start option for the men, from the women’s start at (3,505 meters/11,500 feet), located on the Italian side of the border. Due to the snowfall Thursday, the jury decided Thursday morning that the men’s second training run should start from the women’s starting point. Increased snowfall and reduced visibility led to the cancellation of Thursday’s training session.

“We tried today, but we had no chance [to run the training] in the end,” Trinkl says.

Friday’s plan

“At the moment, we’ve planned a normal program, and then we will see what happens in the morning,” Trinkl says. The organizers have scheduled Friday’s training run to start at 11:30 a.m. CET from the top start in Switzerland.

“We will try again; we have the same problem as we had today. We will try to go from the top and we will try to clean everything,” Trinkl adds regarding all the new snow expected overnight.

He further explains: “We will try to work during the night with some machines, and then we’ll see what it looks like and make decisions tomorrow morning. You can’t say now whether it’s “okay” or “not okay.” We’ll see on the glacier. That’s how it works on a glacier; you always make decisions day by day.”

The course

The new race course is named after the Matterhorn Mountain; the “Gran Becca”, which means “the big peak” in the local dialect of the nearby Valle d’Aosta, Italy. The course was designed by the 2010 Olympic downhill champion, Swiss Didier Défago.

The course suits an early-season race, according to Trinkl: “We know the course is good for the beginning [of the season]. It’s not really a tough downhill. The middle section is quite slow, but we already knew this.”

Trinkl does not think the course is comparable to other men’s World Cup downhill courses during the season.

The sections

If the men can begin their race at the highest starting location, the course will start with a flatter section with longer turns. Then, they fly over the Matterhorn Sprung, the largest jump on the course, followed by a gliding section.

If the men’s race start moves down to the women’s start, racers will have lower speeds in the first section compared to starting from the highest point. “After the steeper part [further down], we have the same speed we have if [starting from the top],” Trinkl says, regarding how starting at the women’s start will affect the lower section of the men’s race.

Race schedule

According to FIS rules, one official training run is sufficient before a World Cup downhill competition. So, even if there is no training run on Friday, the two downhill competitions for the men can take place this weekend on November 11-12, weather permitting.

The organizers have planned the starting time for both men’s races at 11:30 CET.

Next week, the women will begin their official training runs before their first-ever races on the Gran Becca on November 18-19.

World Cup downhill insights

Would you like to know more about the thinking behind the World Cup downhill course setting and race hill preparations? FIS Race Director Hannes Trinkl and then-FIS Technical Expert Atle Skårdal shared insights in a previous SMR article series: The current and future state of World Cup downhill – Part I and The current and future state of World Cup downhill – Part II

Video provided Matterhorn Cervino Speed Opening