And it continues, again and again… While on Thursday, Federica Brignone, Christina Ager and their colleagues were finally able to carry out training at the Zermatt-Cervinia site, after the cancellation of the day before, Friday’s session was skipped due to strong winds. A large, threatening cloud hangs over the two descents scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. If at least one of them occurs, it will be an event. The cross-border track which starts from Switzerland, at an altitude of 3,800 m, to finish 4 kilometers further and almost 1,000 m lower in Italy, has still not hosted a competition since its introduction into the Cup calendar. of the world last year.
To date, out of six descents that should have already taken place, none have taken place: not enough powder in 2022, far too much this year, not to mention the squalls. So, the men had already had to put away their spatulas and chomp at the bit on both Saturday and Sunday. The little haunting music of a shift in the season was therefore played again, this time by veteran Adrien Théaux. “The calendar must be adapted,” assured on France Info the 39-year-old Frenchman.
“We are almost unable to prepare ourselves in summer, except in South America. For downhillers, it is also very difficult to find slopes long enough to train on. Organize high altitude races during this period [de fin octobre à mi-novembre], it’s very complicated. » The Tarbais is pleading for races until “April, even early May”.
Competitive skiing, an essential “aperitif” for leisure skiing
On paper, the idea is attractive. But by digging a little… “We have better visibility on the state of the snowpack and we take fewer risks in organizing the events at the end of the season,” indicates Grenoble researcher Hugues François, lead author. of a study on the impact of global warming in European ski resorts. But there are economic issues: by starting in the pre-season, ski racing contributes to the attractiveness of the resorts and maintains the desire to practice skiing. If it starts later, they have less visibility and the level of attendance suffers. » All professionals in the sector, including equipment manufacturers, have every interest in the events starting in the fall.
In this context, the Zermatt-Cervinia fiasco, coupled with the controversy around the Théodule glacier attacked with excavators in an attempt to plug the crevasses on this track called Gran Becca, is frankly messy. “Last weekend, it was zero points, there was not a single image of skiing,” laments Jean-Pierre Vidal, Olympic slalom champion in Salt Lake City in 2002, and now a consultant on Eurosport. Descending more than 3,000 meters increases the risks. It’s like when you’re driving on the highway. At 120 km/h, it’s fine. The faster you go, the riskier it is. »
The rotten weather of this fall is on the side of the economic difficulties, which should not, however, avoid the structural problems. “In ski racing, there is both a search for precocity and a certain standard of quality of the snow cover,” observes Hugues François, engineer at INRAE (National Research Institute for Agriculture, the food and the environment). Producing very good quality snow very early on will become more and more complicated. At the start of the season, the number of cold windows decreases, so the same goes for the capacity to produce snow. If we produce at the start of the season and then the snow melts, the risk is that we will no longer have enough water to subsequently produce a new base layer. »
“The climate is changing faster than we thought”
In this changing landscape which, overall, is warming up, downhill remains the discipline most affected. “The slalom is shorter, with much less risk-taking, less speed,” compares Vidal, a specialist. When going downhill, you very quickly find yourself at over 100 km/h. As soon as you go off the track, you are in danger. There are several rows of nets. And we are finding it more and more difficult to have secure tracks for athletes to train. »
“The climate is changing faster than we thought, there is a lack of reflection around this,” continues the former skier. When Alexis Pinturault does not travel even though he has decided to make downhill his goal of the year, that raises questions. » To justify his absence from the recent Swiss-Italian event, the triple French Olympic medalist did not mince his words with our Swiss colleagues from 20 minutes : “Our sport is one of the most affected by global warming and, instead of changing our system, of adapting, we are doing quite the opposite. This competition, especially at this time of year, is meaningless. The test is not in keeping with the times. It shocks everyone. »
Get inspired by F1 and surfing?
In summary: it is increasingly difficult to start the downhill season early, but it seems economically impossible to postpone it to finish it in the spring. So, what can we do to feed the image tap? “Find more flexible formats,” retorts Vidal, who has no shortage of ideas, such as timed training sessions like sprint races in F1, or even three-week “waiting periods,” like surfing. Depending on the weather forecast, organizers could decide to organize races or “simple” training sessions.
The descent, already subject by nature to the vagaries of the weather, will have to reinvent itself since these are expected to become more and more numerous. “It is the most publicized and most spectacular discipline,” recalls the Eurosport consultant. We will end up with very few stations to organize these events, and perhaps with seasons where there will be fewer events. But there will always be downhills. » All that’s left to do is cross the sticks.