Cortina's Olympic sliding track to host test races without fans due to construction

There won't be any spectators for the opening test races at the controversial sliding venue for the Milan-Cortina Olympics.

That's because while the track itself is mostly complete, the surrounding area remains a massive construction site.

Still, the upcoming World Cup bobsled and skeleton meet from Friday to Sunday will double as an Olympic test event in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

Luge athletes have also been testing out the venue ahead of the Feb. 6-22 Games.

"We'll have had about 250 athletes test the track over the span of a month. So that's a good stress test for the future," said Fabio Saldini, the Italian government commissioner who has been overseeing the venue's construction.

The old Eugenio Monti track first opened in 1923 then closed in 2008 because of rising maintenance costs.

The International Olympic Committee wanted sliding events for these games to be held on an existing track in nearby Austria (Igls) or Switzerland (St. Moritz) instead. And the IOC forced the local organizing committee to come up with a backup plan that entailed using the facility in Lake Placid, N.Y., if the Cortina track wasn't ready on time.

While work tearing down the old track and building a new venue on the same site began with less than two years to go before the Games, organizers are confident they will finish the 118 million euros ($136 million US) project in time.

"The quality of the ice has been optimal. With the roof in place, and moveable shades that can be shifted, the sun never shines on the ice," Saldini said, adding that natural grass will be planted on top of the roof to mitigate the impact on the environment.

Unlike the old track that used only ammonia, the new venue's refrigerant is 96 per cent glycol, which