Olympia della Tofane – Olympic track in the Dolomites
Olimpia delle Tofane is one of the most famous and most beautiful downhill runs on which the World Cup competitions are held. For the first time the track was opened for athletes in 1956, during the Winter Olympic Games. Then men competed here – the legendary Austrian Tony Sailer won. Since 1969, the Tofan regularly hosts competitions of the White Circus – the Alpine Skiing World Cup. Until the beginning of the 90s, both male and female races were held in Cortina d’Ampezzo, however, since 1993 Olimpia delle Tofane has become an exclusively “female” track – athletes compete in downhill and super giant.
The most successful skier who won the most victories in Tofan in the entire history of the World Cup was the Austrian “speed queen” Renate Göczl, who won 10 races in Cortina. Last year, Daniela Merighetti from Italy celebrated the victory in downhill skiing, and the fastest American skier in the world was the best American skier Lindsay Vonn.
The highway del Tofane starts from an altitude of 2348 m, in the area of the shelter Pomedes. In its upper part, it has one remarkable feature – it passes between two large rocky ledges. This is where the coolest section of the track (Tofana Schuss) is located. According to Peter Runggaldir, the owner of the Small Crystal Globe of 1995 in the supergiant, who repeatedly went to the start of Tofana in the early 90s, at Tofanaschuss athletes developed speeds of up to 140 km / h, after which, overcoming compression overloads, they had to make a lingering right turn. Of course, the start at the skiers was higher than the start of the skiers, however, the athletes also reach considerable speeds on this segment.
The middle and lower part of the track runs in the forest: after turning left, there are two bends, where athletes make jumps – Primo Muro and Secondo Muro. After the diagonal traverse, the technically complex S-shaped bend of La grande S, the skiers approach the finish line, which is located at an altitude of 1580 m – 768 m below the starting point. The length of the Olympia del Tofane is 2822 m.
After the end of the competition, the track opens to all comers – tourists are attracted not only by the opportunity to test themselves, but also the beauty of the surrounding mountains. Spectacular views of Cortina d’Ampezzo – the only resort in Italy included in the list of Best of the Alps, the possibility of skiing until late spring (in 2001 a record was recorded – snow on the slopes of Tofana lay until July) attract winter lovers to this region with all over Europe.
