Next weekend, March 2-3, 2024 Kvitfjell will host two events of the Women's Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup: a Downhill and a Super-G in the Olympiabakken.
Kvitfjell (NOR)
March 2nd Downhill / Women (Canceled. Replaced with a Super-G) 11:00 (CET)
March 3rd Super-G / Women 11:00 (CET)
Olympiabakken Racecourse facts:
Start Elevation: 890 m (Downhill) 782 m (Super-G)
Finish Elevation: 182 m
Vertical Drop: 708 m (Downhill) 600 m (Super-G)
Length: 2650 m (Downhill) 2325 (Super-G)
Max. slope: 64 % (Downhill) 60% (Super-G)
For the second time in history, a Women's World Cup event will take place in Kvitfjel. A Downhill on Saturday and a Super-G on Sunday will take place in Kvitfjell on the Olympic race courses.
Kvitfjell has been a regular stop on the World Cup circuit since March 1993, hosting men's speed events late in the season. The Downhill racecourse, the challenging Olympiabakken, was designed by Bernhard Russi for the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games.
Kvitfjell was the Olympic arena for Downhill and Super-G for Women and Men. The Downhill piste was by many experts characterised as one of the world’s most challenging. Downhill is skiing’s “Formula 1”, and a demanding piste in this discipline was important when applying to host the Games. Lillehammer’s application specified that the Downhill event would be held on a new piste, and after Lillehammer was chosen to host the Winter Games, the final location was decided in close cooperation with FIS advisor Bernhard Russi. The Men's Downhill piste had a length of 3007 meters and a fall of 837 meters. The start area was 1025 meters above sea level, and the finish area was 187 meters above sea level. The piste had several spectacular sections with 70-meter jumps and directional changes of up to 80-90 degrees. The maximum slope was 67%, and skiers often reached speeds of over 130 km/h at the finishing area.
Katja Seizinger of Germany won the Women's Downhill and Diann Roffe Steinrotter of the U.S. took gold in the Super-G at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games.
Last season, in the first of the Super-G races held in Kvitfjell Cornelia Hütter gave Austria the first victory of the season. The 31-year-old skier won the Super-G just 0.01 seconds ahead of Elena Curtoni. Lara Gut-Behrami was third (+0.12).
In 2023, in the second-to-last Downhill of the season, several record stories were written. Kajsa Vickhof Lie was the first Norwegian woman to win a Downhill event in the World Cup. The 25-year-old did have to share the limelight with two of the greatest of all time, with Mikaela Shiffrin securing her fifth Overall World Cup title, and speed queen Sofia Goggia claiming her third successive Women’s Downhill crown.
In the second Super-G held in Kvitfjell last season, Nina Ortlieb topped an Austrian podium with Stephanie Venier second (+0.12) and Franziska Gritsch third (+0.38).
Kvitfjell is a ski resort in the municipality of Ringebu, Norway, 58 kilometers north of Lillehammer. Kvitfjell was built for the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games, and it is probably best known for hosting the Alpine speed events (Downhill and Super-G). The technical alpine events of the Olympics (Giant Slalom and Slalom) were held at Hafjell. Since the Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games, it has become one of the best and most modern ski resorts in Northern Europe. Kvitfjell is located just 2.5 hours north of the Oslo Airport.
The Kvitfjell Alpine facilities were opened to the public in December 1991. After the Winter Games, the resort has developed tremendously. Now the facility extends over 3 mountain sides.
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