Wintry temperatures sets in gently, and it's important to wrap up warm with a cosy woolly hat.

The Crans-Montana World Cup woolly hat is here! It comes in a different colour scheme every year, the 2024 version has multicoloured stripes that are a nod to the colours in previous years. Frankly, it's great!

With the festive season approaching, here's an idea for a handy, comfortable gift that you can place under the Christmas tree.

You can buy it and the headbands (burgundy or blue) from Crans-Montana Tourism and Congress for CHF 20.00.

If you join the friendly and welcoming « Friends of the Crans-Montana World Cup » group, you'll receive one free of charge. Info and membership: here.

How could major sporting events be organised without the invaluable help of volunteers? Crans-Montana and its downhill skiing events are no exception. All these people provide invaluable and much-appreciated work during the many hours of preparation and competition required to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

Every year, the organising committee takes time to thank them sincerely for their commitment by inviting them to the traditional raclette evening at La Bergerie du Cervin. Musical accompaniment for the evening was provided by the Illgrabu Örgeler from Susten in the Upper Valais, and it was Marius Robyr, president of the organising committee, who thanked the volunteers and outlined the 2024 programme, adding a touch of humour and encouragement to his words.

The Crans-Montana "Bénéclub" is always delighted to welcome new members, and each additional person who registers either for the races or for the 2024 training sessions, is an invaluable aid to the organising committee. If you’re interested in joining us and playing an active role in the European Cup and World Cup events in Crans-Montana, you’ll find the registration form here: https://www.skicm-cransmontana.ch/en/volunteers-2024/

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For years, the World Cup ski races in Crans-Montana have had an official woolly ski hat, which changes colour every edition, as well as a refined menu in a well-known local restaurant and an excellent red and white "World Cup" wine. From 2024 onwards, the new official partner for this fine wine will be Provins, Switzerland's leading wine producer, and one of the main companies in Valais. Provins harvests grapes from nearly 700 hectares of vineyards throughout Valais.

At a wine tasting during their November meeting, the World Cup steering committee, chaired by Marius Robyr, had the privilege of selecting the new World Cup wines. The winners were the Petite Arvine/Grand Métral and the Syrah/Grand Métral. The wines were selected at Castel Uvrier, an exceptional venue for banquets, cocktail parties, private events and seminars, which is owned by Provins.  Managing director Michel Charbonnay welcomed everyone on behalf of Provins, thanking them for this new partnership with the Ski World Cup events. He was assisted by Kevin Vonlanthen, sales director for Switzerland, Luc Sermier, oenologist and cellar master, and Alexandre Robyr, sales manager for French-speaking Switzerland.

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Don't miss the opportunity to celebrate with the whole alpine skiing family the beginning of the exciting adventure that is the 2027 Ski World Championships.

SATURDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2023 - PLACE D'YCOOR

17.30 
Pat Burgener Showcase

18.00
Official ceremony and round table with Nicolas Féraud, President of the Municipality of Crans-Montana - Dr. Urs Lehmann, President of Swiss-Ski - Frédéric Favre, State Councillor and Didier Défago, CEO WC 2027

18.30
Revelation of the new visual identity

19h00
Public screening of the 2^nd round of the Killington giant slalom

And a special treat: free aperitif and raclette !

As is tradition, the Alpine Skiing World Cup starts this Saturday in Sölden. There are 45 races on the calendar for the Women's World Cup, which will be stopping off in Crans-Montana on 16, 17 and 18 February 2024 for two downhill races and a super-G.

Our ambassador Michelle Gisin is already looking forward to returning to the Haut-Plateau. The weekend of races in the Valais resort will be the highlight of her season.

Before the start of her winter, the skier from Engelberg talks about her goals.

Video (in French only): SkiActu

The traditional "Friends of the Crans-Montana World Cup" raclette, which was held for the 7th time at the “Bergerie du Cervin" restaurant in Vermala, was once again a success, providing a convivial prelude to the forthcoming 2023/24 World Cup season. The weekend of the annual women's classic in Crans-Montana on the Mont Lachaux piste will be a busy one, with three interesting speed races programmed: two downhills on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 February, and a super-G on Sunday 18 February.

Marius Robyr, president of the Crans-Montana Ski World Cup Race Organising Committee, presented the event to the many 'Friends' present with his usual enthusiasm and humour, detailing the programme of entertainment which includes a promising World Cup Party as a highlight, featuring Oesch's die Dritten and Die Fetzig'n from Zillertal/Austria. This will take place on Saturday evening in Le Régent Congress Centre sports centre. Ticket sales for both the races (grandstands in the finish area) and the concert will open on November 1 online via this site.

And of course there was a little folk music to accompany the delicious wood-fired raclette. The musicians ‘Les Amis de Sonville’ from Nendaz, added a special touch to the event. ‘Les Amis’ were once again the first to wear the latest Crans-Montana Ski World Cup hat. The 2024 version is multicoloured, featuring different colours that have featured in recent years.

The "Friends of the Crans-Montana World Cup" group currently has 385 members, and provides a united force to back the Organising Committee’s measures and initiatives, but it is also totally independent from it. Anyone wishing to join can register here.

Photos: Louis Coubès Production

After the surprise cancellation at the FIS autumn meeting last Friday of the brand-new women's team combined event due to be held in Crans-Montana, the disappointment didn’t last too long. The International Ski Federation accepted the request from the Valais resort’s organising committee, which was also supported by Swiss-Ski, for a compensatory race.

Peter Gerdol, director of the women's World Cup races, gave the go-ahead this Tuesday morning for the organisation of a second downhill race in Crans-Montana. The decision was made due to the organising committee's constant professionalism and, due in particular to the major improvements currently being made to the Mont Lachaux piste.

There will be a busy and appealing programme for the women's World Cup weekend in Crans-Montana. The two downhill races will take place on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 February, and a super G is programmed for Sunday 18 February. All three races will start at 10.30 am.

Saturday 17 February will be one of the busiest days as the traditional World Cup Party returns to the Régent Congress Centre. Pre-bookings for seats in the grandstands at the finish of the ski races and for the World Cup Party, featuring two renowned folk groups, will open online on November 1 via the official Crans-Montana World Cup website.

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The FIS has had to take a step back. After initially announcing that the first women's team combined event would be held in Crans-Montana, the body for international skiing has decided that it won’t be going ahead as planned. The rules will be reviewed and the new discipline will not be introduced until winter 2024-2025.

The FIS autumn meetings in Zurich are not proving easy for the World Cup race organisers. The first major decision was the cancellation of the very first team combined events, which were due to be held in Kitzbühel and Crans-Montana this winter.

This new discipline had been introduced on the initiative of the Athletes' Commission, in discussion with FIS officials, and the plan was to unite a downhill racer and slalom racer from the same nation, and their times in each heat would be added together. The problem however is that lots of competitors have complained of inequalities between nations, which do not necessarily all have enough speed or technical specialists to compete. The distribution of World Cup points (half the points of a classic race) didn’t appeal to everyone either. A proposal to mix athletes from different countries to create one team has not been accepted as yet.

The FIS has therefore decided to return to the drawing board, postponing the introduction of this new combined format until the 2024-2025 season. They must however act quickly, as the IOC has already agreed that the discipline should be included in the 2026 Olympic Games, subject of course to test events being held beforehand.

The first events, scheduled for Kitzbühel for the men and Crans-Montana for the women in 2024, have therefore been removed from the calendar. The Valais resort, which was delighted to be hosting a third race on Friday 16 February in addition to the downhill on Saturday 17 and the super G on Sunday 18, is hoping, in collaboration with Swiss-Ski, to be able to host another event in place of this combined event.

The traditional annual inspection by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) took place in Crans-Montana on Saturday August 26. With three women's World Cup events programmed for this winter and the 2027 World Championships on the horizon, the visit takes on additional importance this year. It was an opportunity to examine the Nationale and Mont Lachaux pistes, which have to meet exacting standards, and also check the infrastructure for the finish area and the organisation team for the World Championships.

Peter Gerdol, director of the FIS Women's Alpine Ski World Cup, led the inspection. Representatives from the local organising committee were present, notably the president Marius Robyr, the Swiss-French television station RTS, the host broadcaster for the events, the CMA ski lift company and Swiss-Ski. Particular attention on the day was focused on a variety of additional safety measures that have been introduced in recent months on the Mont Lachaux piste, as well as positions for television cameras, the execution of various jumps on the piste, organisation of the start and finish sites, and hospitality and accommodation for the teams, which will increase significantly due to the additional presence of the slalom racers and their escorts.

There was a good cooperative spirit for the event, the aim being to once again organise high-quality races in Crans-Montana. Peter Gerdol, the FIS Women's Race Director, was satisfied: "The local organising committee, led by Marius Robyr, is once again on the right track with the preparations." He also welcomed the participation of Didier Défago, managing director of the World Championships, who, along with his deputy Daniel Bollinger, is actively working to ensure the many preparations for the World Championships continue to advance in all areas.

But before 2027, it's worth remembering that the 2023-2024 programme of races in Crans-Montana is packed. It will begin with two women's European Cup downhills on 10 and 11 February 2024. A week later, the traditional caravan for the Women's World Cup will be stopping off on the Haut-Plateau (16-18 February 2024), with not only a downhill and a super-G, but also a team combined event, a new event which has been added to the FIS calendar for the coming winter.

For the Crans-Montana organising committee and their president, Marius Robyr, it is a great honour to host the first women's World Cup event in this new discipline, which will be on the programme in future World Championships and Olympic Games. As a result, Valais will be welcoming not only the world's top speed specialists, but also the world's top female slalom racers. A few weeks beforehand, the first men’s competition of this type will take place at the Hahnenkamm races in Kitzbühel.

The way the event works is that two competitors from the same nation form a team. Each skier takes part in one of the two races, downhill or slalom, and their times are added together to form the rankings. The number of teams a nation can enter depends on its national quota of participants in the downhill. Around thirty teams are expected to be taking part in the competition in Crans-Montana. - Photos: DEPREZphoto sa, cransmontana/Louis Coubés - Video: SkiActu

Photo caption of participants at the FIS 2023 inspection in Crans-Montana

From left, standing: Julien Baszanger (TV RTS), Aurélien Vallotton (RTS), Alice Dumas (RTS), Charlie Hofmann (RTS), Peter Gerdol (FIS), Stéphane Robyr (O.C. Crans-Montana), Marius Robyr (O.C.), Patrice Morisod (O.C.), Alberto Senigagliesi (FIS), Bertrand Cassignol (CMA), Hans Flatscher (Swiss-Ski), Didier Défago (O.C. WC Crans-Montana 2027) and Hugo Steinegger (O.C.). From left, kneeling: Osi Inglin (Swiss-Ski), Franz Hofer (Swiss-Ski), Jean-Philippe Vulliet (O.C.) and Hannes Hofer (Swiss-Ski).