Crans-Montana Relies on Experience in Bid for 2025 Worlds

(ATR) Crans-Montana may not be the favorite to win the 2025 Alpine World Ski Championships but, considering the Swiss ski resort’s long tradition of organizing world-class races, bid leaders like their chances.

Women’s World Cup races attracted large and passionate crowds at the annual tour stop this past weekend. Three races on Crans-Montana’s sun-baked Mont Lachaux course went off without a hitch despite mild temperatures and spring-like snow conditions. Swiss skiers Lara Gut-Behrami and Corinne Suter finished 1-2 in downhill races on consecutive days, while Italian Federica Brignone won a combined on Sunday.

"It’s a super awesome track here to race, it’s not that easy, super technical and also the organization is really good," Suter said. "I think it would be a very nice hill for the world champs here."

Crans-Montana is contending for the 2025 championships against Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Saalbach, Austria. The future host will be elected in May at the FIS Congress in Thailand.

Crans-Montana organizing committee president and 2025 bid leader Marius Robyr says there is unwavering public support to bring a return of the flagship event to the Swiss Alps resort for the first time since 1987.

"All the population here, the people and community are behind the event," Robyr tells Around the Rings in Crans-Montana. "They believe in these races and even the political aspects, they want to have it. The canton of Valais is also behind this event.

"Another very important aspect for this touristic area is to bring back younger generations to skiing and this is a very good way to motivate them."

While the neighboring towns of Crans and Montana hosted the 1987 world championships, Garmisch-Partenkirchen held the premier event in 2011, while Saalbach staged it in 1993. The Austrian ski resort’s candidacy is a second effort after losing a bid to Meribel-Courchevel for 2023.

"We are going there to win, that is the objective over the next three months," Robyr says with confidence. "Emotionally, maybe they [Saalbach] are one step ahead of us, but if there are reasons they failed last time, maybe they will fail again for the same reasons."

On Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Robyr says: "It’s not long ago that they had it, so maybe they can wait a little more."

Eighty million Swiss Francs (CHF) ($81.7 million) are allocated for the 2025 world championships budget, as opposed to the two million used annually for women’s World Cup. According to Robyr, 20 million CHF ($20.4 million) will be used for improving and expanding the Barzettes finish area. Two new hotels and a main press center are also planned.

Robyr said the 2025 organizing committee would consist of 2,500 people, in addition to benefiting from the hard work of the Swiss Army, experienced in preparing the slopes.

Crans-Montana World Cup press chief Hugo Steinegger occupied the same role for the 1987 world championships.

Having met his wife of 32 years, Gabrielle, at those championships, Steinegger says Crans-Montana organized memorable championships, while creating a lasting legacy.

"It was a tremendous world championship – we had a lot of spectators, for example 35,000 for the men’s downhill," Steinegger tells ATR. "There was super nice weather, the Swiss took 14 medals and almost all of the gold, so it was a special world championship for Switzerland."

Swiss racers sped to eight of 10 gold medals, while Peter Müller led a Swiss sweep in the men’s downhill. Pirmin Zurbriggen and Maria Walliser each won three medals for the home nation.

"The impression left by Crans-Montana 1987 was so massive, we can still feel it today," Robyr said.

While the ’87 championships may have been a crowning achievement, Crans-Montana has been organizing World Cup races since 1977. Ski racing lore in the Swiss ski mecca dates to January 1911, when Englishman Sir Arnold Lunn organized the first downhill race in the history of Alpine skiing. The lengthy course began at the Plaine Morte Glacier and descended to the town of Montana.

Crans-Montana and the Olympic Games

Despite the strong public support in favor of the 2025 world championships bid, Crans-Montana has been associated with four unsuccessful Olympic bids along with Sion, in 1976, 2002, 2006 and 2026.

The 2026 bid was withdrawn after a local referendum in June 2018 in which 54% of voters rejected it. The Sion 2026 candidacy was supported by both the Swiss Government and Swiss Olympic Association.

"People think the Olympics will be gigantic, a lot of waste and they are scared of that, but the world championships are a different size, more manageable, less money and within our reach," Robyr explained.

Sion and Crans-Montana were also favorites to win the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, losing to Turin by a vote of 53-36 at the 1999 IOC session in Seoul. The Swiss proposal included plans to construct a full-scale Olympic village in the town of Crans-Montana.

Sion also fell short to a Denver bid, 39-30, in the third and final round of IOC voting for the 1976 Olympics.

Robyr is cautiously optimistic that Crans-Montana’s hallowed slopes could someday be home to the Winter Olympics.

"There is still a lot of work for the IOC to do for engagement of the people, like here in Switzerland, who are conscious about environmental problems and these kind of issues.

"There maybe a future for Olympic Games one day here in Valais, but we need to see the conversion of the new philosophy of the IOC."

Homepage photo: ATR

Written and reported by Brian Pinelli in Crans-Montana

For general comments or questions,click here.

Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.