Bormio prepares for speed fest: FIS World Cup returns Dec. 28-29

The International Ski Federation (FIS) carried out its usual inspection of the Stelvio slope that will host the Alpine Skiing World Cup events in Bormio on December 28 and 29. Focus on safety on key passages of the Stelvio, studying new solutions for a more usable event open to the public

While it’s true that skiing doesn’t sleep even in summer in Bormio, thanks to the perennial snows of the Stelvio glacier that have hosted the turns of champions of Sofia Goggia’s caliber, for fans of the FIS World Cup White Circus the date marked in red is December 28 and 29, 2024, when the strongest global sprinters will return to compete in Alta Valtellina.

The path to what is now one of the great speed classics officially opened on September 4 and 5, with the arrival of the International Ski Federation (FIS) delegation for the usual inspection and briefing with local organizers, just under four months before the World Cup Downhill and Super-G on the legendary Stelvio slope.

In addition to the Chief Race Director of Men’s World Cup Markus Waldner, the on-site visit was also attended for FIS by Hannes Trinkl, Race Director of the World Cup for the fast disciplines – as well as, in his athletic past, dominator of the Stelvio in the 1993 and 2000 editions – his counterpart for the technical disciplines Janez Hladnik, and Assistant Race Director for the fast disciplines Raimund Planckner. Indeed, the visit provided an opportunity to check the progress of operations toward Milan-Cortina 2026, when Bormio will be home to men’s alpine skiing in all disciplines, as well as the absolute debut of ski mountaineering in a five-ring event.

Ahead of the World Cup stages in December 2024, the FIS and the Organizing Committee have shared some important interventions on the competition terrain, aimed above all at further increasing the safety level of one of the most spectacular slopes on the world circuit. Thanks to the widening of the workable surface, in fact, new A nets (the category of fixed protections) will be installed under the start and on the Sartorelli Canalino after the Rocca jump, while they will be extended in the Pian dell’Orso sector.

However, there are many projects under consideration by the local committee and FIS to make the Stelvio experience more and more unique and exciting, especially for the public, also in view of the Milan-Cortina 2026 horizon.

“The challenge ahead of us is extraordinarily great and empowering,” explains Matteo Bonfà, Sole Director of Multiservizi Alta Valle Spa, the entity in charge of marketing and communications for the Bormio ski area, and President of Fondazione Bormio. “Among our priority goals is to make the World Cup stage on the Stelvio an increasingly engaging celebration, on the track, in the parterre as well as in the village. We are confident that the great Olympic opportunity and the synergy between the various components of sport and the territory will push us to give our best and win the challenge of creating an event on par with the great races that are staged in Bormio every year.”