SESTRIERE

IS ONE OF THE SKI RESORTS THAT HAVE HOSTED THE

ALPINE SKI WORLD CUP

ON MOST OCCASIONS IN THE WORLD

The history of the World Cup in Sestriere dates back to even before the World Cup format arose. In fact, ski races were already being organised on the slopes of Mount Banchetta in the 1950s as part of the Kandahar circuit named after the famous Afghan city.

1911-1927

To understand the connection between the Afghan city and Sestriere, it is necessary to take a leap back to the beginning of the past century, and more precisely to 6 January 1911, when the 'Roberts' cup of Kandahar was offered as a prize for a skiing competition in Montana, Switzerland. Roberts was an English lord, awarded the title 'Duke of Kandahar' by Queen Victoria, an honour stemming from his command of British troops in 1880 in an important victory on Afghan soil against rebel troops in the village of Quandahar. To facilitate pronunciation, the 'Q' later became a 'K'. Lord Roberts was very passionate about sports, in particular skiing, which is why the association with his name came about. At the time, skiing was in its infancy, but with the arrival of the Great War, unfortunately, everything slowed down and, naturally, the development of skiing and competitions also suffered. It was at this point that another historical name associated with the sport came into play: Sir Arnold Lunn, born in London in 1881, undoubtedly the pioneer of modern skiing, founded the British Ski Club in 1924, known as the Kandahar Ski Club, based in Mürren, a small village in the Bernese Oberland, opposite the imposing Jungfrau mountain range, featuring the Eiger with its imposing north face known as 'the white spider'. Mürren, even to this day, can only be reached by train or cable car, and so it is only fitting that opposite Mürren is Wengen where, in 1925, the DOC, Downhill Only Club, was founded. (Wengen is currently the unmissable venue for World Cup competitions, featuring the famous Lauberhorn trophy, with the longest downhill run on the circuit). This brings us to another location in the Alps, Austria, the home of another legendary figure in the world of skiing, the Austrian Hannes Schneider. The meeting between Lunn and Schneider gave rise to the first modern slalom, held on the snowy slopes of Sankt Anton am Arlberg (or Kitzbühel) in Austria in 1927. In 1928, the first Arlberg Kandahar trophy was organised at the same location.

1930-1997

Thus was born the first Kandahar Trophy, which remained in St. Anton until 1930, then moved to Mürren, in an ideal alternation between the two locations. After the Second World War, the competition, which was acquiring ever increasing prestige, managed to attract the attention of other locations, whose bids were evaluated and accepted. They were Chamonix in France, where it was held in 1948, Sestriere in 1951 and Garmisch Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, in 1954. The Kandahar race boasted several famous names among its winners, including Celina Seghi, Zeno Colò and Karl Schranz. From that moment onwards, with the creation of the new World Cup format, the ‘white circus’ has often returned to the mountains of Sestriere. 61 World Cup races have been organised since 1967, one edition of the Cup Finals in 2004, one edition of the World Championships in '97 and one edition of the Winter Olympic Games in 2006. Many of these events have consecrated world champions: Annemarie Moser-Pröll, who won the crystal cup an impressive six times in the 1970s, Luxembourg's Marc Girardelli, with five cups, the men's record holder, Ingemar Stenmark, who has won eighty-six races in his career, Switzerland's Vreni Schneider, Benjamin Raich, Svindal and the North Americans Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn. The magical moments linking Alberto Tomba with his five victories and bronze medal in '97 and Deborah Compagnoni's double gold medal in slalom and giant slalom, also in '97, to the Sestriere Pass will remain engraved in the history of skiing.

2006-2009

Fast forwarding to 2006, the 20th Olympic Games at Colle Sestriere was yet another success. All the men’s disciplines (the speed disciplines on the Kandahar Banchetta Nasi and the technical disciplines on the Kandahar Giovanni A. Agnelli) and the women's technical races have been held in Sestriere. Champions of the calibre of B. Raich, winner of a splendid double in the Giant Slalom and the Special Slalom, and Julia Mancuso, the very young winner of the women's giant slalom, have left their mark. Other champions, however, ended their careers on a high note by winning the coveted gold medal: K. A. Aamodt in the super-G and A. Paerson in the slalom. In the post-Olympic years, apart from a brief interlude on the snows of Sansicario for one year, the World Cup returned in 2008 with the women's fast disciplines. This coincided with the beginning of the reign of the person who would become a veritable superstar of the women’s competition: L. Vonn (who was still called Kildow at the time). In 2009, it was the turn of the men with a super combined and a giant slalom won respectively by an emerging C. Janca and the champion D. Cuche. 

2016-2022

"Sestriere rejoined the World Cup in the 2016/2017 season, after being absent for a few years, and was a success in terms of organisation and audience. Over 20 thousand people came to the “Colle” to cheer on the athletes and celebrate Sofia Goggia's fantastic second place in the season that crowned her career. This huge success was repeated in January 2020, when Federica Brignone won the giant slalom and Marta Bassino took an excellent third place in the first World Cup Parallel event at Sestriere. Then in December 2022, a fabulous Marta Bassino won the giant slalom, dominating over Hector and Vhlova, while the slalom was won by Wendy Holdener, beating Shiffrin and Vhlova."

2025

The next milestones will be on 22 and 23 February 2025 when a giant slalom and a giant slalom will be staged. The enthusiasm is sky high and the desire to do well is great, as are the expectations, but above all the area is eager to be able to embrace the athletes again and show them all the affection and warmth possible.