By Brian Pinelli
On Thursday afternoon at 16 CET, FIS and the Organizing Committee represented by the Russian sports club, "Novaya Liga," officially confirmed that the Audi FIS Alpine Ski Champions Cup will take place as scheduled on Saturday night in Moscow. As a result of recent heavy rain and unseasonably warm temperatures of up to 12 degrees Celsius, the status of the unique event which will take place on a specially designed ramp had been in question.
"Natural snow is being imported from the Murmansk region, including Kolskiy Peninsula, where the alpine ski center ‘Bolshoy Vudyar,' is situated," said Dmitry Svishchev, President of the sports club, Novaya Liga. "By now the first seven trucks with the snow arrived to Moscow. Altogether there will be 28 trucks. The total distance from the Murmansk region to Moscow is 2100 kilometers."
Additionally, three other varieties of snow will be used to cover the 60-meter high and 210-meter long artificial slope on which the parallel slalom will occur.
"We have a snow reserve with the help of snow guns, which are used at ski resorts in central Europe," said Svishchev, who is also the Vice-President of the Russian Alpine Ski and Snowboard Federation. "Then we are also using the so called French snow guns. They can work in plus temperatures, producing not snow, but ice chips, 150 cubic meters a day. Moreover, we are importing artificial snow from the alpine center "Snej.com," which is situated in the Moscow region."
Last winter the promotional event took place for the first-time on January 2nd. This Saturday evening, 14 of the top men's slalom skiers and two promising Russian athletes in addition to seven ladies and one Russian female will race for a $30,000 prize.
Top racers include Austrians Reinfried Herbst and Manfred Pranger; Frenchmen Julien Lizeroux and Jean-Baptiste Grange; and Italians Giorgio Rocca and Patrick Thaler. World Slalom Champion, Maria Riesch of Germany leads the field of ladies.
It will be the first time that the ladies ski on the artificially constructed ramp in the Russian capital. Preparation of the enormous ramp has been underway with organizers working three shifts around the clock since November 16th.
"International alpine ski competition on such an outdoor construction is unique not only to Russia, but for the whole world," said Svishchev. "The event organizers and firstly the ‘Novaya Liga' specialists have great experience constructing and using artificial venues. And here I mean, not only in Moscow, where we have already had Alpine Skiing, Snowboarding and Freestyle aerials competitions. For example, last year our specialists constructed a 34-meter high ramp in Tver, where the snowboard World Cup took place. The construction of the ramp in Moscow went without any problems and took about a month."
This time around, a brand new location awaits fans and the elite slalom skiers journeying to Moscow.
"We tried to improve several aspects from last year," added Svishchev. "We moved the ramp from the square in front of Moscow State University to the Moscow State Palace of Children's and Youth's Creativity. Thus we managed to use the advantages of the natural 18-meter hill. The width of the ramp is now up to 37 meters. Many things have changed, but the main issues remain stable. These are consistent in the interest of FIS management including President Gian Franco Kasper, who will attend, and the world's leading slalom specialists."
According to U.S. skier and 2006 Olympic gold medalist, Ted Ligety, last year's event was a huge success, "The scene was awesome. People were packed all around the base of the ramp. They had Euro techno blasting and fireworks shooting out the side of the ramp scaffolding after the competition. It was a sweet event to be invited to."
"It was very interesting to compete on the artificial ramp," said Germany's Felix Neureuther, winner of last year's event. "It's completely different to a natural slope, but still a really challenging experience."
With the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games just over four years away, Svishchev believes that the Audi FIS Ski Alpine Champions Cup is only the beginning of the sport's growth in Russia.
"For the Games we should not only try to build a strong team of athletes, but also prepare the fans to love and understand Alpine Skiing," he said. "At this stage, Russia cannot boast having victories or world leaders in Alpine Skiing. But we are ready to suggest creative ideas and take part in their implementation. For example, we would like parallel slalom to be included in the official World Cup and World Championship program and some time later in the Olympic program."
And regarding future ski events on similar structures like the one in Moscow, perhaps the sky is the limit.
"We see the possibility to organize ski competitions on artificial ramps in other major megalopolises," said Svishchev. "There is interest coming from London, Paris, Rome and Vienna. Just imagine having a Grand Prix of five to seven events in the most beautiful and historic cities in the world. We hope that the success of the Audi Champions Cup in Moscow will bring us one step closer to the realization of our innovative ideas."
For more information, visit champcupfis.com
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