Zermatt Plans Cross Border DH. Will Be The Longest And Highest In The World Cup.
Zermatt plans to run women's and men's runs together with its Italian neighbor Valtournenche. For the first time in the history of the World Cup, a race is to take place across national borders. The route has numerous superlatives: it will be the longest and highest downhill route on the World Cup circuit
Due to the unexpected developments at the Lauberhorn races, albeit saved for the time being, the media interest in Zermatt's World Cup plans is reawakening. Daniel Luggen, spa director at Zermatt, on the other hand, quickly dampens expectations: "It is not our intention to take Wengen away." On the contrary: "This classic should not disappear from the ski circus, because it is essential for Swiss tourism and skiing".
However, this attitude does not contradict the Zermatt - Matterhorn plan to promote their own World Cup plans and to enrich ski racing as a leading ski station with a new and innovative project. Together with the Italian town of Valtournenche, Zermatt plans to hold cross-border downhill races starting in Switzerland and finishing in Cervinia, Italy, almost a race around the Matterhorn - from the start above the Klein Matterhorn on the Gobba the Rollin at 3899 m above sea level. M. to Laghi Cime Bianche at 2814 m above sea level. M. Franz Julen, President of Zermatt Bergbahnen AG and the main driving force behind the project emphasizes: "The organization of a Ski World Cup underlines our forward strategy - we want these races and we will do everything we can to do so."
He refers to the Alpine Crossing project, a CHF 150 million rail link between Switzerland and Italy, which is currently under construction and will go into operation in autumn 2021. With this, the race site is really opened up.
The idea for the races originally came from the neighboring municipality of Valtournenche: "In the history of the World Cup there has never been a race across national borders," said the CEO of the cable cars Cervino Spa Federico Maquignaz. The plan is to run a women's and a men's downhill at the beginning of each season in November. The planned route has a height difference of over 1,000 meters and a length of almost 5 kilometers: This would make it the longest World Cup route - and the highest one. The line runs largely through existing glacier slopes through the winter landscape. No major structural measures are required to build the racetrack, no trees have to be felled and snow is guaranteed due to the altitude.
The project is supported on a broad scale in the Zermatt - Matterhorn destination: from the ski club to the hotels, mountain railways, community of citizens and residents as well as the tourism organization, everyone is behind the ambitious plans. One is also confident that the project can also be financially successful. Initial talks have already been held with FIS, the Italian ski association Fisi and Swiss Ski; the reactions have been positive and motivate those responsible to drive the project forward. "If everything goes according to plan, we would be ready for our first races in autumn 2022," said the confident spa director, Luggen.
