Val Gardena/Gröden, Italy, to Host 1 of the Canceled FIS World Cup Downhill Races from Zermatt, Switzerland & Cervinia, Italy

One of the men’s Downhill FIS World Cup races of the two events canceled earlier this month at the Matterhorn Ski Paradise at the border of Switzerland and Italy has been rescheduled for the race weekend at Val Gardena/Gröden, Italy, in December.

• Related: First Ever Cross-Border FIS Alpine Race from Switzerland to Italy Sees Both Events Canceled

The Men’s Speed Opening, scheduled for November 11-12, 2023, was supposed to be the first ever cross-border race, going from Zermatt, Switzerland, to Cervinia, Italy. The two Downhill races had to be canceled due to wind and snowfall, making racing unsafe. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (‘FIS’) announced the decision to move one of the canceled Downhill races to Val Gardena/Gröden on Monday evening. The Italian ski resort in the Dolomites was scheduled to host a Super-G and a Downhillevent on December 15 and 16, 2023. The race weekend will now commence a day earlier with an additional Downhill on Friday, December 14. 

Skiers competing across several disciplines, such as Marco Odermatt or Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, will therefore have up to five days of races, since two Giant Slalom races will be held at Alta Badia, Italy, on December 17 and 18.

The women’s Downhill at Zermatt/Cervinia, which was scheduled a week after the men’s event, was also canceled due to bad weather. No replacement for the women’s Downhill events has been announced yet.

Val Gardena/Gröden is located in the north of Italy in the region known as South Tyrol. For 550 years South Tyrol was part of the Habsburg Empire/Germany/Austria, which has led to the region being predominantly German-speaking to this day. The Italian government has tried for the last 100 years to enforce Italian is the official language but has remained unsuccessful, hence the Italian/German name for not just the ski resort but the entire region. The ski area is one of the largest and busiest in Europe and spreads out across 115 miles (181km) of groomed slopes serviced by 79 ski lifts and cable cars. Val Gardena/Gröden has been a staple on the FIS circuit for many years and lodged an application to host the 2029 FIS Alpine World Championships.