The White Circus returns to Italy with the Bormio stop on one of the toughest courses in Europe: the Stelvio!
This legendary course is world-famous as one of the most demanding on the tour: with a vertical drop of nearly 1,100 meters, it plunges from 3,000 meters all the way down to the valley floor. Beyond its altitude and length, the course features dramatic contrasts between its upper and lower sections, with changing snow textures and shifting light throughout the run.
The build-up to this Downhill was already promising, with the Italian squad in strong form and clear visibility after a rather challenging week of weather on the Bormio course.
Right from the start, the Stelvio bared its teeth, forcing skiers to attack the course with power and determination just to hold their line all the way to the finish: a 63% maximum gradient, speeds exceeding 130 km/h, and constant transitions between light and shadow were compounded by softer snow at the top giving way to rock-hard ice over the closing sections.
The Italians showed they were hungry for victory: first Paris, then Heel took the lead with faster and faster times, followed by Innerhofer, who despite a mistake battled back to slot into third place! For several minutes, the provisional standings looked like a new “Valanga Azzurra” (Blue Avalanche) sweep, before the top seeds came down and shook up the leaderboard.
The provisional all-Italian podium of 1st Dominik Paris, 2nd Werner Heel, and 3rd Christof Innerhofer came under attack from Reichelt (Austria) and Svindal (Norway). Austria’s Reichelt matched Paris’s time to the hundredth of a second, while Svindal finished just 0.01 seconds behind despite mistakes on his run.
The two champions bumped the other Italians off the podium, but Paris held firm at the top, and no subsequent starter could beat his extraordinary time, earning him his maiden World Cup victory!
By the end of the race, the leaderboard still had a strong Italian tint, with 4 Italians in the top 11 and the triumph of the Italian champion from Alto Adige.
Despite a few minor errors, the Azzurri delivered a phenomenal team performance, tackling the unforgiving Stelvio course with grit, peak fitness, and a clear determination to play a starring role in this 2013 Alpine Ski World Cup.
No comments yet