Audi FIS Ski World Cup 18th/19th January 2020 1. Sestriere - Two days of challenges featuring the skiing queens A rich programme of activities makes the event unique 2. From December 2016 to January 2020 A work path based on continuity, innovation, entertainment, eco-sustainability and synergy Five keywords that will accompany us to the next edition by Gualtiero Brasso, President of the Organizing Committee 3. The Kandahar Giovanni A. Agnelli race course 4. Roll of honour 5. Audi FIS Ski World Cup programme 6. More than 50 years of Alpine Ski World Cup - Sestriere moving in its own league! by Patrick Lang 1. SESTRIERE – TWO DAYS OF CHALLENGES FEATURING THE SKIING QUEENS A rich programme of activities makes the event unique The Alpine Ski World Cup returns to Sestriere. Thanks to the support of the Piedmont regional office – as well as the crucial role played by FISI (Italian winter sports federation) in drafting the international stages – the Olympic slopes of Vialattea ski resort will newly take the spotlight. Following the success of the 2016 edition, the best female athletes in the world will compete on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th of January, 2020, on the slope of great sports events, the legendary Kandahar Giovanni Alberto Agnelli. The first date will feature a giant slalom race, while the second date will feature a parallel giant slalom, a new race format planned for certain stages of this year’s season, which will certainly stimulate great expectations and curiosity to see the athletes feature in a head- to-head race. Along with the strictly competitive side, the city of Sestriere is preparing to greet the athletes with an action- packed schedule of side events, in order to attract the greatest number of mountain and winter sports lovers possible. The event will take place in a context of great celebrations all over town: from the finish area to the streets, from the squares to the café’s and restaurants, everyone will be able to share the joy and emotion of following the athletes throughout the race weekend. Sestriere last hosted the athletes of the White Circus – with a women’s giant slalom and a women’s slalom race – in December 2016. On that occasion, the athletes struck the hearts of the numerous fans who came to the Vialattea resort to attend the races: Italy’s Sofia Goggia was a runner-up in the giant slalom race, only beaten by Frenchwoman Tessa Worley, while the undisputed queen of the slalom race was Team USA’s Shiffrin. Let us mention just few of the numbers behind the organization of an event the likes of the Ski World Cup. Preparation of the slope for slalom and giant slalom races of the Sestriere stage in 2016 may be summarized as follows: 155 hours of snow production, 30,000 m3 (over 1 mln ft3) of water used, 75,000 m3 (over 2.6 mln ft3) of snow produced, 450 hours of snow grooming, and 7 km (over 4.3 mi) of protection fences along the slope. Sestriere is certainly a traditional stop of the White Circus. In fact, it is one of the ski locations that has hosted the greatest number of Ski World Cup stages of all time. Ever since the first season of the World Cup, when Sestriere had the honour to host – as early as March 3rd, 1967 – one of the first stages. It was Jean-Claude Killy who won the men’s downhill race along the legendary Kandahar Banchetta slope, whilst in the women’s competition Giustina Demetz and Marielle Goitschel tied for the number one spot. Sestriere, lest we forget, has hosted heroic competitions well before the birth of the Ski World Cup circuit, with international races held at the Arlberg- Kandahar slope in the early 50s. Throughout its long history in the competitive skiing world, Sestriere has hosted 63 World Cup races, not to mention the 1997 World Championships and the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. A 50-plus year history which has seen the greatest champions of worldwide skiing claim their crown. There are thus immense expectations for this year’s edition, which deserves a spot among the already rich and prestigious history of international events held in Sestriere. In this case, a 750-plus seat bleacher will be set up in the finish area, along with a hospitality tent for registered guests and a sponsor village including numerous booths to entertain the fans before and after the races. The entire weekend will be a sequence of exhibitions, talks, music, and other forms of entertainment involving the entire town, in order to greet the athletes, fans, and tourists in the warmest and most joyful way possible. On Saturday afternoon Piazza Fraiteve – the main town square – will host the award ceremony for the first race, the giant slalom, as well as the presentation of athletes competing in the second race, the parallel slalom: a unique occasion to meet the wonder-women in person! The brand new Parallel. The Parallel Giant Slalom presents a whole new race format. The event begins with the qualifying heats on Sunday at 9.15 am. In this first phase of the competition all the athletes make two parallel descents, one on the blue course and the other on the red, so there and back. Qualification is based on the sum of the two times for the two courses. The best 32 athletes go through to the parallel giant slalom race scheduled for 11.45 am. We’re all really looking forward to the direct clash between the girls in the race. This is going to be top level racing with an opportunity to see the world’s finest athletes who make it through to the final stages challenge each other repeatedly on the slopes. Press Office Ski World Cup Sestriere tel. +39 0122 799403 fax +39 0122 799460 [email protected] Info sul sito: www.vialattea.it 2. FROM DECEMBER 2016 TO JANUARY 2020 A work path based on continuity, innovation, entertainment, eco-sustainability and synergy Five keywords that will accompany us to the next edition by Gualtiero Brasso, President of the Organizing Committee The 2016 edition of the Audi Fis Ski World Cup was a turning point for us in the organization of this prestigious event. Over 20.000 people have reached Colle Sestriere to attend the races, and the rich schedule of side events has involved the full range of visitors with its sequence of exhibitions, talks, music, and other forms of entertainment: a winning format which was not only appreciated by the fans, but by FIS too. The format will in fact be the basis of the new event scheduled on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th of January, 2020. “CONTINUITY” - the starting point could be no other word, because we are strong of the enormous success of the past edition and are attempting to give the event an organizational continuity. We have experienced an event that has exceeded our most idealistic predictions, both in terms of race attendance and in terms of events organized for the general public, and we are proud of this. Our main aim is to give a continuation to this success through a format that will be based upon – for the most part – that of the positive 2016 event, with the necessary changes to the (fortunately) few things that haven’t worked or in any case haven’t produced the results we were expecting. “INNOVATION” - it seems contradictory to the first keyword, but its meaning is very precise. There is innovation indeed, and it is significant. In fact, one of the races planned this year will be the parallel slalom; a new entry in the women’s schedule, as we have only seen parallel slalom races thus far, and it will be the first time we see a parallel giant slalom race. There is a great deal of curiosity but we are clearly confident and optimistic on the fact it will be a great event, appreciated even by the audience that will see the best women skiers in the world descend the slope more than once. “ENTERTAINMENT” - we have confirmed the event format of the past edition, and planned a plethora of main events and side events as a complement to the morning races. This is what the general public wants, and this is what FIS wants. The schedule will be so abundant that it will allow the fans and tourists to move from one event to the other more than once throughout the day and in different parts of the town. The core will be the town square – where one of the award ceremonies will take place – and the pedestrian zones, where the sponsor booths will be set up for tourists to enjoy themselves to the fullest. A great show revolving around the Ski World Cup. “ECO-FRIENDLINESS” - we have begun a path that will lead the event – little by little – to full environmental sustainability. Of course, it was impossible to reach this immediately, but we are already putting in place and will continue to work on initiatives allowing us to make our little contribution to protecting the environment. From paper to nonwoven fabric, and even our gadgets, every material will be recycled, recyclable, and/or biodegradable. We are sourcing our suppliers locally as much as we can. We will host partners promoting organic and ecological products at their booths. Moreover, we thought of doing something more in terms of tangible actions: for every 20 registered guest, the Organizing Committee will plant a tree. If we consider the same number of guests as the past edition, we will plant about 1,000 trees in areas specifically identified by the Consorzio Forestale (public tree planting institution) that will support us in this project.