Val di Fassa Alpine Ski World Cup Preview
- Raúl Revuelta
- Mar 2
- 4 min read
Next Friday, the Women's Alpine Skiing World Cup goes to Val di Fassa, to the Ski Area San Pellegrino.
On Saturday and Sunday, March 6-8, the slope La VolatA in the San Pellegrino ski area will host two Downhill events and a Super-G.
Val di Fassa (ITA)
March 6th Downhill / Women (replaces cancelled race in Crans Montana) 11:30 CET
March 7th Downhill / Women 10:45 CET
March 8th Super-G / Women 10:45 CET
Local entrepreneur Alberto Vendruscolo's greatest dream was to complete a black slope connecting Col Margherita to Passo San Pellegrino. The idea was to unite the regions of Veneto and Trentino by overcoming seemingly insurmountable natural obstacles. This ambitious project was completed by his son Mauro, who is now the president of the Col Margherita cable car company. The slope, known today as 'La VolatA', bears Alberto Vendruscolo's initials as a tribute to someone who wished for it but was unable to see it finished.
The project began in 1982 with the installation of the Col Margherita cable car, connecting the San Pellegrino Pass to Col Margherita, which is 2,514 meters high. This paved the way for the future Ski Area San Pellegrino. The ‘La VolatA’ project was formalised in 2011, and the dream became reality in 2017.
The new racecourse called Pista La VolatA is a steep, fast run, featuring a continuous series of spine-tingling walls with gradients of up to 48%, for a total length of 2400 m and 600 m of altitude drop. This slope hosted the Downhill and Giant Slalom races in the FIS Val di Fassa 2019 Junior Alpine Skiing World Championships.
From the natural terrace of Col Margherita, which offers a panoramic view of the Pale di San Martino, the Downhill begins with two technical slopes in sequence, named Alberto and Manfroi. This is followed by the Pian del Fabion. After passing through a wooded area, the course makes a sharp left turn, leading into the famous Muri del Poeta. This section features steep and challenging slopes that demand precision and control. The slope culminates with the dynamic and adrenaline-fueled Dosso del Camoscio, followed by a long final run that allows skiers to reach high speeds before finishing near the valley station of the Col Margherita cable car.
La VolatA racecourse facts:
Start Elevation: 2480 m (2395 SG)
Finish Elevation: 1880 m
Vertical Drop: 600 m (515 SG)
Length: 2400 m (1750 SG)
Max. slope: 47 %
Average slope: 28 %
Situated in Trentino, northeastern Italy, this alpine valley is renowned for its Dolomites, which were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009.
The Val di Fassa region comprises seven picturesque villages: Canazei (including Alba and Penia), Campitello di Fassa, Mazzin (including Campestrin and Fontanazzo), Pozza di Fassa (including Pera di Fassa), Vigo di Fassa, Soraga, and Moena.
Nestled between the Catinaccio, Sella, and Marmolada mountains, Val di Fassa unfolds like a natural amphitheater of light and snow. The sheer cliffs and jagged peaks of the Dolomite ranges create a unique landscape that reflects the language and culture of the Ladin people (the minority Ladin language is spoken in the valleys around the Sella: Val di Fassa, Val Gardena, Val Badia, and Livinallongo, as well as Cortina d’Ampezzo), leaving a lasting impression on all who visit. This region is a haven for alpine skiing, featuring 200 kilometers of well-connected slopes, modern lifts, and six spectacular ski tours.
Particularly popular are the slopes of the Sellaronda, or the Tour of the 4 Passes that includes the Sella Pass, the Pordoi Pass, the Campolongo Pass, and the Gardena Pass.
Val di Fassa is ready to reenter the world of top-class skiing: an opportunity to show its connection with alpine skiing, first as a resort that is part of the biggest ski domain in Europe, the Dolomiti Superski, and then also as a destination whose sports story starts back in 1988, when the champion Alberto Tomba began to train here with his coach Flavio Roda (now FISI president). A story that was reinforced in 2001 with the first of 28 European Cup races and then in 2006 with the beginning of the Piste Azzurre project, which entitled the valley as the training center of the Italian National team, passing through the extraordinary experience of the 2019 World Junior Alpine Skiing Championships, whose closing ceremony also took place on February 27th. More than 80 international FIS races have been hosted here till nowadays.
In 2021, La VolatA joined the circuit of top-level courses through the efforts of the Val di Fassa Tourist Board and its “Piste Azzurre” project. From February 26 to 28, 2021, it hosted the Val di Fassa Ski World Cup, featuring three women’s alpine skiing speed events, two Downhills, and a Super-G.
La VolatA was scheduled to host the Val di Fassa Alpine Ski World Cup 2024 with two super-G races on February 24 and 25, 2024, but the events were canceled due to heavy snowfall that weekend.
In 2021, after winning the world titles in the Super-G and Giant Slalom and the bronze medal in the Downhill in Cortina, Lara Gut-Behrami won the first race after the World Champs in Val di Fassa. She finished ahead of Austrian Ramona Siebenhofer and teammate Corinne Suter.
The day after, Lara Gut-Behrami continued her amazing speed streak, with her second straight victory in Downhill in Val Di Fassa. Corinne Suter finished in second place. Third place went to German Kira Weidle.
In 2021, on the last day in the Italian ski resort, Federica Brignone beat Lara Gut-Behrami and claimed victory in the Super-G in Val di Fassa. Gut-Behrami’s teammate Corinne Suter also capped a fantastic weekend, earning her third podium in as many races with her third-place finish.
The battle for the Downhill crystal Globe is now wide open following the injury of American skier Lindsey Vonn, who currently leads the standings with 400 points. With three Downhill races remaining, Emma Aicher, who finished fourth in Soldeu, has reduced the gap to 96 points behind Vonn. Her teammate, Kira Weidle-Winkelmann, is in third place with 258 points, while Italian skier Sofia Goggia follows closely in fourth with 240 points.
With Soldeu's victory in the second Super-G held in Andorra, Sofia Goggia consolidated her first place in the Super-G standings with 420 points. Alice Robinson is second with 336, and Emma Aicher is third with 304.
Aicher has made notable progress in the Overall standings, now trailing Mikaela Shiffrin by 219 points and Camile Rast by 49 points.
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