Zermatt World Cup Comeback Targets March 2028 on Gornergrat

Zermatt Cervino 2023 / GEPA pictures

The proposed return follows eight canceled races on the cross-border Gran Becca course. This time, organizers plan a March event on a different slope, pending FIS approval.

Zermatt’s World Cup comeback has a new course, a new target month and a difficult history to overcome.

The resort and Swiss-Ski are working toward a men’s downhill on Gornergrat in March 2028, after all eight races planned on the nearby Gran Becca course were canceled across the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The new plan shifts the event from an early-season glacier course crossing from Switzerland into Italy to a spring race entirely on Swiss soil.

Blick reported Oct. 12 that Zermatt appears on the provisional FIS calendar for 2027-28. The race still depends on the course meeting FIS requirements and the resort completing its preparations on schedule. blick.ch

Eight races, no starts

The Matterhorn Cervino Speed Opening was designed as a new speed-season showcase. The Gran Becca course started on the Swiss side of the border and finished in Italy, offering a dramatic setting beneath the Matterhorn. But the inaugural races never got underway.

In October 2022, officials canceled the men’s downhills because rain and a lack of snow left the lower course unsafe. Warm temperatures and heavy rain then forced the cancellation of the women’s races planned for November.

The following November brought different problems. Heavy snowfall, poor visibility and strong winds canceled both men’s races. The women’s downhills were also called off after persistent winds made racing unsafe. Across the two seasons, none of the eight scheduled races took place.

After consulting athletes, teams and other stakeholders, FIS, Swiss-Ski and Italy’s winter sports federation left Zermatt-Cervinia off the 2024-25 calendar. The repeated cancellations also strained relations: in 2024, Zermatt Bergbahnen said elite teams would no longer have access to its glacier training slopes.

A different slope and a March window

The Gornergrat proposal offers a substantial reset. Organizers plan to renovate an existing public piste at a reported cost of about 13 million Swiss francs. The redesigned course will be about 3.2 kilometers long, shorter than the historic route, which hosted international races through 1967. Downhill Olympic champion Didier Défago designed the new layout with help from Pirmin Zurbriggen.

Zermatt residents approved the new course at a community assembly in June. The project includes clearing about 8,300 square meters of forest, a local impact that adds another consideration as construction moves forward.

A 2025 agreement between Zermatt, Swiss-Ski and FIS set out a longer-term plan: two men’s speed races on Gornergrat in the second half of March each year from 2028 through 2034, if the course receives FIS homologation and meets the other requirements for a World Cup event. The agreement also restored a framework for glacier training in Zermatt through 2034.

The test comes before the race

Blick reported that construction is expected to finish in fall 2027, with the first training sessions planned for January 2028 and a European Cup downhill proposed as a dress rehearsal the following month. The timeline has drawn some caution within FIS. Men’s speed chief Hannes Trinkl has argued for more testing and a possible 2029 debut, according to Blick, while Zermatt and Swiss-Ski believe the planned 2028 test period will be enough.

Swiss stars Marco Odermatt and Franjo von Allmen have expressed support for the project, Blick reported. Their enthusiasm reflects the appeal of a new Swiss World Cup venue, but the final measure will be whether the course is ready, safe and approved in time.

After two seasons in which weather erased every planned Gran Becca race, Zermatt is trying again with a different course and a later place on the calendar. The 2028 date is a target. The Gornergrat’s World Cup future will depend on the work still ahead.