Will the Lauberhorn race disappear from the 2022 World Cup calendar? The possibility has existed since the Swiss federation, in conflict with the organizing committee of the legendary race, asked that the Oberland events be removed from the calendar of the World Cup in the 2021-2022 season.
For Didier Défago, Olympic champion in 2010 and winner at Lauberhorn in 2009, such an outcome would be a blow for all ski lovers. “My generation, in particular, was strongly marked by the Lauberhorn and it is obviously difficult to imagine its disappearance, For the moment, these are only contingencies, tempers the Valaisan. I don’t know all the details, but money is of course the crux of the problem, including the issue of TV rights. It is to be hoped that sport will soon return to the center of the debate. The Lauberhorn is ingrained in our customs, it’s a myth. But that does not mean that this race must stop its evolution, “underlines the one who is now notably active as a track designer.
A myth
Didier Défago obviously has a special emotional connection with this “monster” whom he had tamed in 2009, a little more than a year before his Olympic downhill title in Vancouver. “I wish we could have won it more often,” he smiles. It is mythical, it is part of the history of skiing. There is the panorama, but also this sensational atmosphere. The Lauberhorn is an unusual track. As a designer, this is the kind of track that has been lost over time and that I would like to meet more often on the circuit. There are narrow and very demanding passages as well as spectacular passages like the Dog’s head for example. And then, more than 2 and a half minutes of descent, it’s unique. ”
In 2009 Didier Défago won the Lauberhorn downhill.
While the Lauberhorn racing organizing committee has appealed to the Sports Arbitral Tribunal to settle the case, there is hope for a positive resolution of the dispute. “The important thing for young people and the future of Swiss skiing is that a World Cup race stays with us in Switzerland, no matter where.”
In Crans-Montana, for example, who would be in the running if it was a question of recovering Wengen’s place, as echoed “Le Nouvelliste” on Wednesday? “Why not,” says Défago. In girls, this station is already run and has a fixed place in the calendar. For the boys, on the other hand, there would still be work before they could organize World Cup races there … ”
In the end, money will undoubtedly have the final say.
Cyrill Pasche
Created: 22.05.2020, 10h13
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