The Legend of the Stelvio, a world-class slope

One of the most fascinating and technical runs in the world is becoming Olympic in 2026. This is the story of the famous run in Bormio, and its adrenaline, legends, and champions.

The Stelvio run was inaugurated in 1982 for the first edition of the World Series and in anticipation of the 1985 Alpine Ski World Championships in Bormio. In 2005 it was the location of another edition of the Alpine Ski World Championships and two World Cup finals in 1995 and 2008. Since 1993, it has hosted the men's Downhill at the end of December every year. The slope in Bormio will host the Men's Alpine Skiing competitions during Milano Cortina 2026 and the first race will be the Downhill, on February 8, 2026.

According to experts, it is one of the most fascinating and difficult slopes in the world. Gian Franco Kasper, President of the FIS from 1998 to 2021 and IOC Member from 2000 to 2018, defined it as Il Teatro alla Scala degli sport invernali (The Scala Theatre of winter sports).
 

The characteristics of the slope

It is 3,250m long and has an elevation of 1,010m. At the start, the athletes face a gradient of 63% and the first curves lead to the Salto della Rocca - a leap of 30 metres. Then it’s straight into the Canalino Sertorelli, a diagonal where the skiers gather speed, and then face the Curve degli Ermellini which leads them to the Carcetina diagonal, one of the most challenging and spectacular parts of the course. After the diagonal, skiers descend to the Ciuk before hitting the Muro di San Pietro at full speed - a jump of 45 metres with a gradient of 50%. The final two hundred metres lead to the finish line, directly in Bormio, with the last spectacular jump of a breathtaking run.

The great champions 

On this legendary slope, the best of Alpine Skiing of the last 4 decades have triumphed. In 1997 Hermann Maier, who overtook Fritz Strobl with a gap of 0.70 hundredths of a second in the World Cup, Bode Miller at the 2005 World Championships in the Downhill and Super-G, Ted Ligety in 2008 and the 6 successes of the Italian Dominik Paris. The latter is the first downhill skier in history to triumph so many times on the same run.

Don't miss

As anticipated, the men's Downhill and Super-G will be held on the Stelvio again this year on 28 and 29 December. Many new champions and new successes are to come on this legendary run, waiting for Milano Cortina 2026.