Alpine skiing-Cortina’s revered Olimpia piste prepares for spotlight

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY, Feb 7 - Carved into the pale limestone amphitheatre of the Italian Dolomites, the Olimpia delle Tofane descends toward Cortina d’Ampezzo like a ribbon of alpine history - a slope where speed, risk and mythology converge.

At the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics it will stage all five women’s alpine skiing events, returning the sport to one of its most revered venues — the same piste on which Austria’s Toni Sailer surged to the men's downhill gold at the 1956 Games and a mainstay of the women's World Cup since 1993.

Blending sustained velocity with intricate technical demands, the downhill track runs roughly 2,560 metres with a vertical drop of about 750 metres.

It opens with the Schuss, a wall pitched at around 64% where racers reach maximum speed before launching over the Duca d’Aosta jump.

The course then flows into a giant-turning middle sector shaped by sweeping curves, where the Gran Curvone forms the pivotal gate, tending to push skiers wide, followed immediately by the blind-exit Scarpadon — one of the piste’s most technically demanding passages.

From there the slope eases into the Pale di Rumerlo, where maintaining speed becomes decisive ahead of the final straight and its last artificial jump, known in racing jargon as the “dentino”.

“For a downhill skier, it’s complete,” 2002 Olympic champion Carole Montillet told Reuters, pointing to the succession of steep walls, more forgiving gliding sections, rollers and constant changes of direction that define the piste’s character.

“Then there is the mythical side as well. We’ve been racing there since 1993. There have been great stories, there have been big crashes. It’s a beautiful course with a beautiful history and a superb profile — and for a downhill skier, when you’re on it, you just have fun.”

Montillet added that while some observers now consider the slope less severe than in the past — when heavy water injection created harder, more punishing surfaces and the terrain featured sharper rollers — modern grooming has slightly softened its edges.

Even so, she said, Olimpia delle Tofane remains the most demanding downhill on the women’s circuit and for Sunday's race, course designers have come up with a few more tricks.

AIRBORNE SECTIONS

Austria’s Nina Ortlieb highlighted the precision required over the course’s airborne sections, saying racers must stay compact and stable off the lip to control distance and landing impact when jumps grow larger.

She described the opening Schuss as unpredictable from year to year, with flight distances varying according to conditions, yet technically straightforward if skied cleanly and directly — “not a difficult section, but a fun section,” she said.

"At the top, what we call the uphill double, that big side hill, there's a roll into that, and it's a little bit kickier coming out," world champion Breezy Johnson said.

"And then down here, these rolls before the finish are definitely ... much bigger than they were last year."

Czech Olympic champion Ester Ledecka has described Olimpia as her favourite venue on tour, praising its natural flow, varied terrain and typically grippy preparation that allows racers to attack without excessive ice.

For Italy’s Sofia Goggia — Olympic downhill gold medallist in 2018 and four-times World Cup winner in Cortina — the slope carries emotional resonance alongside sporting prestige.

Describing Olimpia as “the course of my heart — intense and free,” she said victories on home snow feel uniquely charged, reinforcing Olimpia delle Tofane’s status as a theatre of alpine skiing memory and the dramatic centrepiece of the women’s events at the 2026 Games. REUTERS