From Friday, February 28, to Sunday, March 2, Kvitfjell will be the venue for three Women's Alpine Ski World Cup events: two Downhill races and a Super-G on the Olympiabakken.
Kvitfjell (NOR)
February 28th Downhill / Women 10:30 CET
March 1st Downhill / Women 10:30 CET
March 2nd Super-G / Women 10:30 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) 2170 (Super-G)
Max. slope: 64 % (Downhill) 60% (Super-G)
For the fourth time in history, a Women's World Cup 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.
There have only been three previous Women’s Downhill World Cup races staged at Kvitfjell in Norway – in March 2023, won by Kajsa Vickhoff Lie, in March 2003, won by Renate Götschl, and in March 1996, won by Heidi Zurbriggen.
Last season Lara Gut-Behrami won the first Super-G race in Kvitfjell ahead of the Austrian duo of Cornelia Hütter (+0.12) and Mirjam Puchner (+0.13).
Federica Brignone won the second Super-G held in Kvitfjell. The Italian set the best time in a challenging course due to the fog -the race had to be interrupted several times, once for more than half an hour- to take the victory with a lead of 0.61 seconds over Lara Gut-Behrami. Ester Ledecka rounded out the podium 0.79 seconds behind Brignone.
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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