The opening test races at the Milan-Cortina Olympics sliding venue will not have any spectators due to ongoing construction in the surrounding area. However, the upcoming World Cup bobsled and skeleton meet in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, from Friday to Sunday will serve as an Olympic test event. Luge athletes have also been testing the venue ahead of the Feb. 6-22 Games, with around 250 athletes trying out the track over the past month.
Fabio Saldini, the Italian government commissioner overseeing the venue’s construction, mentioned that the old Eugenio Monti track, which first opened in 1923 and closed in 2008, was initially considered for the sliding events. The International Olympic Committee initially suggested existing tracks in Austria or Switzerland for the games but eventually settled on the Cortina venue, with a backup plan to use the facility in Lake Placid, N.Y., if necessary.
Environmental considerations
Despite the tight timeline for demolition and construction at the old track site, organizers are confident in completing the 118 million euros ($136 million US) project on time. The new venue boasts improved features like a roof and moveable shades to shield the ice from direct sunlight. Additionally, efforts to reduce environmental impact include planting natural grass on the roof and utilizing a more climate-friendly refrigerant with ammonia only used in compressors for cooling.
The output from the new track will also be utilized to cool Cortina’s ice arena during the Olympics, which will host curling events. After the games, the ice arena will revert to a hockey venue, and plans are in place to build a new curling center cooled by the sliding center’s facilities.
World Cup event
The upcoming World Cup sliding event in Cortina marks the first in almost 18 years since January 2008. The new track is longer and more challenging, featuring 16 corners compared to the previous 11. Notably, veteran bobsledder Kaillie Humphries-Armbruster, who has won three Olympic gold medals, is the only athlete in the 30-nation field to have competed on the old Cortina track. In the skeleton event, local athlete Mattia Gaspari will have the opportunity to compete at home for Italy.