As it has every year for more than four decades, the Stelvio is set to host another splendid post-Christmas leg of the men’s Alpine Ski World Cup. But also approaching is the full consecration of what is considered one of the most technical and exciting slopes on the circuit, which during the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics will not only host the men’s alpine ski trials, but, will be the scene of the five-circle debut of ski mountaineering.
Since 1982, the year it made its appearance by hosting the opening edition of the World Series, pages of alpine skiing history have been written on the Stelvio slope: not only the World Cup but also two World Championships, those of 1985 and 2005, have passed on Bormio’s iconic track.
On Dec. 28, with the classic downhill, and Dec. 29, with the super-G, the fastest men in the world will challenge their opponents, themselves and time along 3442 meters and a gradient of up to 63 percent.
They will start from the 2268 meters of the Praimont area, trying to pick up as much speed as possible; they will face the jumps of the Rocca and San Pietro with legs that are already heavy; they will pass on the legendary Carcentina, a diagonal counter slope that does not accept mistakes; and then, the final wall, the Konta, where the best know how to make the difference before launching into the last curves, and finally to the finish.
Among those who have managed to dominate it crop up names such as those of Swiss Pirmin Zurbriggen, Frenchman Luc Alphand, Norwegians Lasse Kjus and Aksel Lund Svindal, Austrians Hermann “Herminator” Maier, Hannes Trinkl and Michael Walchhofer, Americans Bode Miller and Daron Rahlves, but also our own Christof Innerhofer. One over all, however, has managed over the years to find a feeling that no one else has with the Stelvio: Dominik Paris, an honorary citizen of Bormio, has won six times in the downhill, including five consecutive, and once in the super G.
After last season’s successes, France’s Cyprien Sarrazin, in the downhill, and Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt, in the Super-G, are called to the challenge of repeating themselves at the Scale of Speed on Skis: the stuff of champions.
