As the holiday season approaches, it’s hard to stay indifferent to the multitude of winter sports competitions. Here are a few (green) tracks to help you find your way around:
Bobsleigh and skeleton have had their world championships since 1930, with 8 events today. The competition takes place every year except in the years of the Winter Olympics. Germany remains largely in the lead in the medal standings. The events are held in the same place, in a common program. The last editions took place in Altenberg.
The World Cup, which is also held annually in a city chosen from several candidate cities. This year the 33ᵉ edition will be organized between November 20, 2021, and January 16, 2022, between Winterberg, Alternberg, Igls, St. Moritz, and Sigulda.
Biathlon too has two major competition formats, a championship, and a world cup. The World Cup takes place mainly in Europe over a dozen stages with events such as the sprint, pursuit, mass start, individual, and relay. Martin Fourcade holds the record of victory in this competition. The world championships also change location every year: the last ones took place in Pokluja and the next ones will be held in Oberhof in 2023. Martin Fourcade holds with the Norwegian Ole Einar Bjørndalen the record of titles (11 titles)
Finally, the international ski federation organizes multiple competitions, including:
The Alpine World Ski Championships: The competition takes place in odd-numbered years in stations designated by a vote within the FIS. There are 7 events, downhill, slalom, combined, giant slalom, Super G, and parallel slalom. The next championships will be held in Courchevel and Meribel in 2023 after Cortina in 2021.
The Alpine Skiing World Cup takes place this year from October 23, 2021 to March 20, 2022, interspersed with the Beijing Olympics. The finals will be held in Couchevel-Méribel, the titleholders are Alexis Pinturault and Petra Vlhovà
The Nordic World Ski Championships: The 2023 edition will take place in the city of Planica in Slovenia. It will be a great first for Slovenia, which was in competition with Trondheim. Among the events will be cross-country skiing, ski jumping and combined. Norway remains well ahead of the medal table with 13 gold medals!
There are also competitions such as freestyle skiing, speed skiing, etc.
All these competitions are rarely a sinecure in terms of logistics, as the areas chosen are limited in terms of accommodation or transport. In addition to this, weather constraints can sometimes greatly influence the smooth running of events.
Do not hesitate to contact VPI for all your needs on these events!
