Roc de Fer
| Roc de Fer | |
|---|---|
| File:Championnats de ski alpin 2023 à Méribel J3 (arrivée piste).JPG | |
| Place: | France Méribel |
| Opened: | 10 February 1990 |
| Downhill | |
| Start: | 2,150 m (7,054 ft) (AA) |
| Finish: | 1,465 m (4,806 ft) |
| Vertical drop: | 685 m (2,247 ft) |
| Length: | 2.413 km (1.50 mi) |
| Max. incline: | 28.8 degrees (55%) |
| Min. incline: | 5.1 degrees (9%) |
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Roc de Fer (French: "iron rock") is a World Cup downhill Alpine skiing course in Méribel, France, which is part of the large interlinked ski area known as Les Trois Vallées in the Savoie department of France, near Mont Blanc. The course was originally created for the 1992 Winter Olympics and has since played host to the World Cup season finals in 2015 and 2022 and the 2023 FIS World Ski Championships, the latter two in conjunction with the L’Éclipse course in the neighboring town of Courchevel.
Roc de Fer is considered venue for 2030 Winter Olympics Alpine skiing events.[1]
History
[edit | edit source]Although Méribel has hosted an Alpine skiing slope with a chair lift since 1938, when the resort was developed and opened by a former Scottish military officer and avid skier named Peter Lindsay,[2] and then expanded dramatically as a ski resort after World War II,[3] it still needed a course upgrade when it was designated to host some of the skiing events for the 1992 Winter Olympics, which were centered in nearby Albertville.[4]
According to the official record of the 1992 Games, the Roc de Fer course was developed after studying the sporting aspect and the environmental impact of the new course.[5] For those Olympics, for which some of the course development was handled by former Olympic gold medalist Bernhard Russi, all five of the women's alpine events (downhill, Super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and combined) were planned for (and took place at) Roc de Fer.[5]
In advance preparation for the Olympics, on 10–11 February 1990, the new Roc de Fer course was opened with two World Cup Super-Gs, both won by Carol Merle.[6][7][8] Less than a year later in 1991, Petra Kronberger won consecutive World Cup events in downhill and Super-G.[9]
During the Olympics, some of the female skiers were displeased with being "isolated" in Méribel instead of being housed in a communal Olympic village, as had been the case in the prior Olympics in Calgary.[10]
After the Olympics, outside of a slalom in 1994, the Roc de Fer course remained dormant on the World Cup circuit for twenty years.[11] But then, a women's World Cup downhill and combined were held on the course on 23-24 February 2013, and the course once again returned to the World Cup circuit.[11] More significantly, the course hosted the World Cup season finals in 2015 and later co-hosted both the season finals in 2022 (hosting all of the men's and women's technical events (giant slalom, slalom, and mixed team parallel)) and the 2023 FIS World Ski Championships (hosting all of the traditional women's events, similar to the 1992 Winter Olympics, as well as both men's and women's individual parallel giant slalom and the mixed team parallel event) in combination with the L’Éclipse course in Courchevel.[11]
Also, during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Méribel held a celebration in honor of the 30th anniversary of the 1992 Olympic skiing at Roc de Fer and the hockey in the town.[12]
Events
[edit | edit source]Winter Olympics
[edit | edit source]| Year | Date | Event | Winner | Second place | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ↓ Women ↓ | |||||
| 1992 | 12–13 February | KB | Austria Petra Kronberger | Austria Anita Wachter | France Florence Masnada |
| 15 February | DH | Canada Kerrin Lee-Gartner | United States Hilary Lindh | Austria Veronika Wallinger | |
| 18 February | SG |  Deborah Compagnoni |
France Carole Merle | Germany Katja Seizinger | |
| 19 February | GS | Sweden Pernilla Wiberg | Austria Anita Wachter United States Diann Roffe |
||
| 20 February | SL | Austria Petra Kronberger | New Zealand Annelise Coberger | Spain B. Fernández Ochoa | |
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World Championships
[edit | edit source]| Year | Date | Event | Winner | Second place | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ↓ Women ↓ | |||||
| 2023 | 6 February | AC | Federica Brignone |
Switzerland Wendy Holdener | Austria Ricarda Haaser |
| 8 February | SG | Marta Bassino |
United States Mikaela Shiffrin | Austria Cornelia Hütter Norway Kajsa Vickhoff Lie | |
| 11 February | DH | Switzerland Jasmine Flury | Austria Nina Ortlieb | Switzerland Corinne Suter | |
| 15 February | PG | Norway Maria Therese Tviberg | Switzerland Wendy Holdener | Norway Thea L. Stjernesund | |
| 16 February | GS | United States Mikaela Shiffrin | Federica Brignone |
Norway Ragnhild Mowinckel | |
| 18 February | SL | Canada Laurence St-Germain | United States Mikaela Shiffrin | Germany Lena Dürr | |
| ↓ Men ↓ | |||||
| 2023 | 15 February | PG | Germany Alexander Schmid | Austria Dominik Raschner | Norway Timon Haugan |
| ↓ Alpine team event ↓ | |||||
| 2023 | 14 February | PG (Team) |
File:Flag of the United States (23px).png United States | File:Flag of Norway.svg Norway | File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada |
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World Cup
[edit | edit source]
Course sections
[edit | edit source]- Petit Col – Departs des Militaires – Bosse De Anglais – Tunnel – Beage's Wall – La Traverse – Pracua – Le Goulet – Le Stade
One source described the Roc de Fer downhill course as "having a steep start", permitting skiers to accelerate to over 100 km/hour in less than eight seconds, but then requiring more technical skills due to both turns and "many rolls and bumps".[13]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ https://olympics.com/en/news/olympic-winter-games-french-alps-2030-top-facts-you-need-to-know-about-the-host
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Roc de Fer (official)
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