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Bid for 2009 World Champs
After organising more than 150 World Cups and four events
during the 1992 Olympics, Val d’Isère is making a bid to stage the
2009 World Alpine Skiing Championships, thus joining the exclusive
club of resorts (Chamonix, St Moritz, and Garmisch) in having organised
all three of these grand events.
The triple Olympic champion,
Jean-Claude Killy, has stepped back into the world of skiing by
joining forces with Val d’Isère as president of the executive committee
for this project.
Car free championships
Val d’Isère’s bid, dubbed the “Car free Championships” is unique,
owing to the fact that the competition sites are on two slopes facing
one another, with the finish areas less than 50 metres apart, by
the centre of the resort. The press centre will be less than a minute’s
walk away from the finish areas, and athletes, coaches, officials
and the public can go everywhere on foot. Going from accommodation
to the start of the race won’t take more than 10 minutes.
Conscious of its environment,
Val d’Isère has consulted the Forest Commission regarding the new
downhill traced on the Solaise mountain. Together with the International
Skiing Federation, the Forest Commission participated in the layout
plans of the course, removing a minimum of trees in the process.
A long term programme of tree planting is being examined to more
than compensate for the requisite tree felling.
Local support
All Val d’Isère will be behind their two local women racers, who
will certainly be at the start of some of the 2009 races. They are
Audrey Peltier, who is beginning to shine in some of the Europa
Cup giant slalom races, but more especially Ingrid Jacquemod, whose
best result last season was a second place in the last World Cup
downhill of the season, and all being well is capable of winning
medals in at least three events during these Championships : Downhill,
Super G and Giant Slalom.
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