Courchevel Alpine Ski World Cup Races Preview
- Raúl Revuelta
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 51 minutes ago
Following the Giant Slalom and Slalom races in Kranjska Gora, Courchevel (France) will host the Men’s Alpine Ski World Cup on 13, 14, and 15 March 2026. a prestigious event that the ski resort has not organised since 1979 (apart from the 2022 World Cup Finals and the 2023 FIS World Championships), when Ingemar Stenmark won the Giant Slalom.
Two Super-G races and a Downhill will take place on the legendary Éclipse racecourse, which hosted the 2022 World Cup Finals and the Men’s events of the 2023 FIS World Championships.
Courchevel (FRA)
March 13th Super-G / Men (replaces cancelled race in Garmisch) 11:00 CET
March 14th Downhill / Men 11:00 CET
March 15th Super-G / Men 10:45 CET
L’Eclipse racecourse in Courchevel was designed and built to host the Men’s events at the 2023 World Championships.
The Eclipse made its official debut on Wednesday, 16 March 2022, with the Men’s Downhill of the World Cup Finals.
Its dimensions already make it one of the most impressive and demanding pistes on the world circuit alongside the Streif in Kitzbühel and the Stelvio in Bormio. For instance, the average slope of the Downhill track is 30% meanwhile The Streif has an average slope of 27%.
The piste starts close to Col de la Loze (2,234m), on the ridge that separates the resorts of Méribel and Courchevel. From its summit, skiers will enjoy a panoramic view of the valley before descending a vertiginous slope with a difference in altitude of 3,200 m and 945 m.
This extreme, challenging piste features technically demanding jumps and alternating zones of light and shade.
After a first section in the open, skiers will pass through a dense forest with reduced light levels, before skiing back into the sunshine at Le Praz (1,290m), where the finish line is located.
The Downhill ends in the heart of Le Praz, a picturesque village of wooden chalets and narrow streets. Located at the foot of the Olympic ski jumps, L’Eclipse’s finish area is located on the roof of the Alpinium complex, which has a two-storey car park for the public and a gondola lift.
The track has all the makings of a World-class racecourse: big jumps, magnificent bends, and alternating zones of light and shade.
Men’s Downhill
Start: 2235 m
Finish: 1290 m
Drop: 945 m
Length: 3100 m
Max Gradient: 58%
Min Gradient: 11%
Average Gradient: 30%
Sébastien Santon, race director in charge of the Eclipse, explains this unique Downhill piste.
The Zenith Jump: The skiers have passed through four gates when they arrive on the bump. Once over the jump, they dive into the wall. At this point, there is a magnificent plunging view down the valley and Mont Blanc in the distance.
The Sound Wall: It is on the high part that the curves are the longest. The downhillers will build up a lot of speed on this wall which is rather long and with natural movements in the terrain.
The S Des Arolles: This is the signature of this part of the Downhill with curves of over 200m long. At this point, you can’t see the end of the course. It looks like the chicanes of the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix. The start of the Ladies’ Downhill will be at this point.
The Jockey's Jump: This is the most spectacular and biggest jump on the course. There is a steep slope behind and in the shade.
The Black Hole: In this part, the athletes arrive with great speed. As the name suggests, one dives into the dark. It is relatively dark, and the light is considerably lower than above.
The Bux Wall: Here, there is a triple gate with a 300m long S. This is the penultimate wall of the race. It is long and demanding. You need a lot of heart. The maximum gradient is 58%.
The Take-Off: The track passes over the Olympic jumps of Le Praz. There is a jump. You can imagine this area as a springboard before the last wall.
The Braves Jump: This is the steepest wall and is spectacular. The skiers will put their last efforts into this stretch. We are 2’ into the race after 3 km of descent and 945 m of difference in altitude. Behind it is the last schuss with a jump that ends this descent in spectacular style.
Men’s Super-G
Start: 1880 m
Finish: 1290 m
Drop: 590 m
Length: 1857 m
Max Gradient: 58%
Min Gradient: 16%
Average Gradient: 32%
Marco Odermatt achieved in Courchevel his first Downhill victory to claim the World Champion Crown at the 47th Alpine World Ski Championships, thanks to a near-perfect run, especially on the technical sections of L'Eclipse racecourse.
In the Men's Super-G, gold surprisingly went to Canadian James Crawford, who left the Norwegian co-favorite Aleksander Aamodt Kilde behind by just a hundredth of a second. Bronze went to local hero Alexis Pinturault (+0.26).
In March 2022, Vincent Kriechmayr won the final Downhill of the season in Courchevel. The Austrian finished 0.34 seconds ahead of Marco Odermatt. Beat Feuz finished in the third position, +0.54 seconds behind Kriechmayr.
The day after winning the Downhill, Vincent Kriechmayr won the final Super-G of the season in Courchevel. He finished 0.53 seconds ahead of Marco Odermatt. Gino Caviezel finished in the third position, +0.75 seconds behind Kriechmayr.
Built from scratch in 1946, Courchevel is a French Alps ski resort with four different areas: Courchevel 1300 (Le Praz), Courchevel 1550, Courchevel 1650 (Moriond), and Courchevel 1850. The Courchevel Valley also includes the town of La Tania, built as competitors' accommodation for the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville.
Courchevel is part of the Les 3 Vallées, the world’s largest ski area with 7 interconnected resorts (Courchevel, Méribel, Brides-les-Bains, Les Menuires, Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, Val Thorens, and Orelle) and 600 kilometers of ski runs.
The area originally consisted of three valleys: Saint-Bon, Allues, and Belleville in the Tarentaise, Savoie. The skiing area has since been extended into a 'fourth' valley, the Maurienne Valley.
Within the Tarentaise Valley, you find the biggest concentration of world-class ski resorts in the world. The most well-known of them are the Paradiski (Les Arcs, La Plagne) and the Espace Killy (Val d'Isère and Tignes).
Courchevel and the Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes have a long tradition of competitive skiing and hosting major international events. It is from this region that 70% of the athletes who are members of the French Alpine Skiing Team and the main competition clubs, as well as champion trainers, come.
In January 1979, Courchevel hosted its first World Cup event, a Giant Slalom won by Ingemar Stenmark.
The 2023 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships were held in Courchevel-Méribel. For the occasion, a new, very technical, and challenging Downhill course, L'Éclipse, was designed by Bruno Tuaire, director of Courchevel Sports Club, and Hannes Trinkl (FIS).
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