Call her ... Gran Becca! Here is the track for the speed opening on the Matterhorn, but it will be competed in 2023

Today the official presentation of the project of the first trans national descent; due to delays on the new 3S Testa Grigia-Piccolo Cervino cable car, there will be a year of delay for the historic first in the World Cup, anticipated in autumn 2022 by the European Cup.

Friday 26 November 2021 5 minutes reading time

The "speed opening" on the Matterhorn will become a reality, with the first speed races of the season in a unique context, starting with the 2023/24 World Cup. This is the news of the day, which emerged during the official presentation of the new downhill slope, the first national trans (the first third in Switzerland, the other two on Italian snow) in the history of the maximum circuit, which now also has a real name. It will be the "Gran Becca" (the great peak, from the local dialect) to host descent and super-g, both for men and women, but one year later than the initial forecasts, and the same announcement of the last 1st October when the OK came from the FIS to proceed with this project. The reason is linked to the delays in the construction of the new 3S Testa Grigia-Piccolo Cervino cable car, which connects Cervinia to Zermatt and will only be open from spring 2023. In autumn 2022, the test event will almost certainly be represented by a couple of competitions of the men's European Cup (from 24 October it will already be possible to train on the track), and then arrive with the World Cup 12 months later, between the end of October and the beginning of November 2023, after the opening in Soelden. The track, as is known, was designed and designed by the Olympic downhill champion, Didier Défago, presented in detail today to the press, in the presence of the testimonial and ambassador Pirmin Zurbrigenn, of the president of the organized committee, Franz Julen (CEO of Zermatt- Bergbahnen), and the number 1 of the Aosta Valley FISI-ASIVA committee, Marco Mosso. Four km of track, from 3800 meters of altitude of the Gobba Rollin to 2865 of the Laghi delle Cime Bianche: 935 meters in altitude, a little less for the female descent with lowered start. “We built a complete track, with jumps, long curves, elements of speed and even simpler passages,” said Defago himself. For a legend like Pirmin Zurbrigenn, “it is an honor to be able to contribute my experience to this visionary and innovative project. The races on the Matterhorn are a dream that becomes reality ". 95% of the track is already part of the ski area, therefore it will be a fully sustainable event and with the use of a lot of natural snow, without any deforestation. The risk? As has already been said several times, and the same high-level athletes have made all their perplexities understood, it is the one linked to the weather conditions at those altitudes, even if the period should be favorable. And a pinch of good luck will also be needed, for the speed opening in just under two years ...

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