Alpine skiing-Cortina’s revered Olimpia piste prepares for spotlight

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY, Feb 7 : Carved into the pale limestone amphitheatre of the Italian Dolomites, the Olimpia delle Tofane descends toward Cortina d’Ampezzo like a ribbon of alpine history - a slope where speed, risk and mythology converge.

At the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics it will stage all five women’s alpine skiing events, returning the sport to one of its most revered venues — the same piste on which Austria’s Toni Sailer surged to the men's downhill gold at the 1956 Games and a mainstay of the women's World Cup since 1993.

Blending sustained velocity with intricate technical demands, the downhill track runs roughly 2,560 metres with a vertical drop of about 750 metres.

It opens with the Schuss, a wall pitched at around 64 per cent where racers reach maximum speed before launching over the Duca d’Aosta jump. 

The course then flows into a giant-turning middle sector shaped by sweeping curves, where the Gran Curvone forms the pivotal gate, tending to push skiers wide, followed immediately by the blind-exit Scarpadon — one of the piste’s most technically demanding passages.

From there the slope eases into the Pale di Rumerlo, where maintaining speed becomes decisive ahead of the final straight and its last artificial jump, known in racing jargon as the “dentino”.

“For a downhill skier, it’s complete,” 2002 Olympic champion Carole Montillet told Reuters, pointing to the succession of steep walls, more forgiving gliding sections, rollers and constant changes of direction that define the piste’s character.

“Then there is the mythical side as well. We’ve been racing there since 1993. There have been great stories, there have been big crashes. It’s a beautiful course with a beautiful history and a superb profile — and