Cortina d’Ampezzo (Belluno), 19 January 2022 – The Women’s World Cup is back in Cortina. One of the most traditional and fascinating appointments among those dedicated to the speed of the women’s white circus is back. The event, organized by the OC coordinated by Michele Di Gallo and managed from a technical point of view by the Federazione Italiana Sport Invernali, will take place on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd January, with respectively the Downhill and the Super-G.
The Olympia delle Tofane is, of course, the stage of the race, with 2,560 meters of length and stretches of absolute spectacularity such as the ” Schuss “, with a maximum slope of 65%, where the speed specialists jump and reach speeds of over 130 km/h., the “Salto Duca d’Aosta” and the blind passage of the “Delta”, the complicated “Gran Curvone” and the subsequent change of slope of the “Scarpadon”. It will be a minute and a half of pure adrenaline.
THE PROTAGONISTS – At the start there will be the best athletes in the world of skiing, starting with the first three in the overall World Cup ranking, in order the American Mikaela Shiffrin (in Cortina she won the 2019 Super-G), the Slovakian Petra Vlhova (who should only be at the start of the Super-G) and the Italian Sofia Goggia. The last one, who leads the downhill and superG Cup rankings, is continuing her physiotherapy after last weekend’s fall in Zauchensee (Austria) and is recovering in view of the races on the Olimpia, the slope on which she won the downhill in January 2018 and on which she could not look for the world title, due to injury, in February 2021. With the athlete from Bergamo, there will also be Federica Brignone from Aosta Valley, galvanized by the recent success in the super-G in Zauchensee and now second in the specialty “cup” (as well as fifth in the general), and Marta Bassino from Piedmont. At home in Cortina, the sisters Nadia and Nicol Delago, Elena Curtoni and Francesca Marsaglia will compete for a place at the Beijing Olympics. Also, two other Italian athletes, Roberta Melesi and Karoline Pichler, will be looking for an important performance. There will be many reasons of interest, linked to the presence of high-level skiers who, at the Tofane’s foot, are looking not only for points for the World Cup but also for answers about their condition in view of the Games. At the gate, for example, there will be the American Breezy Johnson, who is competing with Sofia Goggia for the leadership in the downhill ranking but who is just back from a couple of weeks’ breaks, the Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami, who won the gold medals in giant slalom and super-G at the World Championships of Cortina 2021, and the Swiss Corinne Suter, who last February in Ampezzo became World Champion in downhill. To keep an eye also on the young New Zealander Alice Robinson and the Austrian Ramona Siebenhofer, able to win in 2019 in two consecutive days the downhill in Cortina. There are 74 athletes registered. They will start to get familiar with the slope from Thursday, January 20, date of the first time- trial.
UPDATED PROGRAM – Due to the weather forecast for the coming days in Kitzbuehel (Austria) and with the aim of better adapting to broadcaster need, the programme of the weekend for the Women’s World Cup in Cortina will be as follows:
Thursday 20 Jan: Women’s Downhill Training 1 at 11.00 CET
Friday 21 Jan: Women’s Downhill Training 2 at 11.30 CET
Saturday 22 Jan: Women’s Downhill at 11.30 CET
Sunday 23 Jan: Women’s Super G at 11.45 CET
PUBLIC ATTENDANCE – Fans will be able to attend the event live. The areas open to the public will be available at 50% of the maximum capacity: 500 people in the stands and the same number in the parterre. In order to access to them, it is necessary to be in possession of a nominal ticket (that can only be purchased online) and to have a super green pass as well as to wear the FFP2 mask correctly. The purchase of the ticket will allow the free use of the parking and shuttle service provided by the organisation, in collaboration with the partners Park for Fun and Dolomitibus, as well as the free use of the chairlift from Socrepes to the finish area. All information about the tickets, traffic and logistics can be found on the website www.cortinaskiworldcup.com.
LIVE TV – As usual, there will be a wide media coverage. Both days will be broadcast live on Rai Sport and Eurosport. There will also be dedicated TV coverage in different countries like Austria, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Czech Republic, Holland, United Kingdom, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, United States and Switzerland.