La face de Bellevarde
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| La face de Bellevarde | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Place: |  Val-d'Isère, France |
| Mountain: | Rocher de Bellevarde |
| Architect: | Bernhard Russi (SUI) |
| Opened: | 1992 |
| Level: |  Expert |
| Competition: | Critérium of the First Snow |
| Downhill | |
| Start: | 2,807 m (9,209 ft) (AA) |
| Finish: | 1,848 m (6,063 ft) |
| Vertical drop: | 959 m (3,146 ft) |
| Length: | 2.998 km (1.863 mi) |
| Max. incline: | 35.4° degrees (71%) |
| Avr. incline: | 17.8° degrees (32.1%) |
| Avr. incline: | 2.8° degrees (5%) |
| Giant slalom | |
| Start: | 2,300 m (7,546 ft) (AA) |
| Finish: | 1,850 m (6,070 ft) |
| Vertical drop: | 450 m (1,476 ft) |
| Max. incline: | 32.6° degrees (64%) |
| Avr. incline: | 24.7° degrees (46%) |
| Avr. incline: | 13.5° degrees (24%) |
La face de Bellevarde is a World Cup downhill ski course in France, on Rocher de Bellevarde mountain in Val-d'Isère, Savoie; it debuted at the 1992 Winter Olympics with the men's downhill.[1][2][3]
It is only about two kilometres (1.2 mi) kilometres up the road from "Piste Oreiller-Killy" in La Daille, another legendary course with a lengthier World Cup tradition.
With 24.7 degrees (46%) incline, not counting the full dowhnill course, it is by far the world's steepest giant slalom and course in general in average gradient, with no flat sections, only steepness the whole time.
This competition is known as the Critérium of the First Snow (Critérium de la première neige).
Course sections from GS start
The course was developed for the 1992 Winter Olympics, designed by Swiss Olympic downhill champion Bernhard Russi, a respected constructor of downhill slopes around the world. The official opening was planned for late 1991 with two World Cup events, but the course was not yet finished. Both were moved to the nearby Oreiller-Killy course, and held on 7–8 December.[4]
The Bellevarde course was officially opened two months later at the Olympics with the men's downhill competition; later events on the slope included combined, super-G, and giant slalom.
Near the end of 1992, the World Cup circuit premiered on this course with Super-G and slalom events on 6–7 December; the downhill was cancelled due to poor weather conditions.[5][6] In February 2008, World Cup races returned after an absence of more than fifteen years; it became a regular host on the men's calendar, rarely exchanged with Oreiller-Killy.
A year later in February 2009, Val d'Isere hosted its first World Championships. All of the men's events and the women's technical events (GS, SL) were held on the Bellevarde slope; the team event was cancelled.
- Passage de la Rute
- Le Rocher
- Slalom Start
- Le Mur
- Le Stade Olympique
- La Flamme
Olympics
Men's events
| Event | Type | Date | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | DH | 9 February 1992 |  Patrick Ortlieb |
Franck Piccard |
Günther Mader |
| KB | 10–11 February 1992 |  Josef Polig |
Gianfranco Martin |
 Steve Locher | |
| SG | 16 February 1992 |  Kjetil André Aamodt |
 Marc Girardelli |
Jan Einar Thorsen | |
| GS | 18 February 1992 | Alberto Tomba |
Marc Girardelli |
Kjetil André Aamodt |
- The slalom was held at Les Menuires on 22 February.
World Championships
Men's events
| Event | Type | Date | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | SG | 4 February 2009 | Didier Cuche |
Peter Fill |
Aksel Lund Svindal |
| DH | 7 February 2009 |  John Kucera |
Didier Cuche |
Carlo Janka | |
| SC | 9 February 2009 | Aksel Lund Svindal |
Julien Lizeroux |
 Natko Zrnčić-Dim | |
| GS | 13 February 2009 | Carlo Janka |
Benjamin Raich |
 Ted Ligety | |
| SL | 15 February 2009 | Manfred Pranger |
Julien Lizeroux |
Michael Janyk |
Women's events
| Event | Type | Date | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | GS | 12 February 2009 |  Kathrin Hölzl |
 Tina Maze |
 Tanja Poutiainen |
| SL | 15 February 2009 | Maria Riesch |
 Šárka Záhrobská |
Tanja Poutiainen |
Team event
Poor weather conditions.
| Event | Type | Date | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | PG | 11 February 2009 | cancelled due to heavy snowfall over the night | ||
.jpg)
