Zermatt (dpa) - In Switzerland there are plans for a World Cup run with record dimensions. This should start from the Klein Matterhorn with a length of almost five kilometers across the border to Italy and lead to the finish in the ski area of Cervinia in the Aosta Valley.
This is what the president of Zermatt Bergbahnen AG, Franz Julen, told the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" and added: "We want this race - and we will do everything we can." The confirmation of the plans comes at a delicate time after the dispute between the Swiss association and Wengen escalated this week. Swiss Ski has removed the World Cup classic from the program for the 2021/22 season.
The ski managers from Zermatt in the canton of Valais said that they do not want to have the Lauberhorn race in January off the calendar, but rather plan their departure at the beginning of the season in November. The race, which will be premiered in late autumn 2022, should start at 3899 meters above sea level and be just under five kilometers longer than the current record distance in the Alpine World Cup, just the Lauberhorn downhill from Wengen.
Bergbahnen chief Julen told the "NZZ" that he didn't want to harm Wengen. "The World Cup without Wengen - that would be an own goal of skiing, it would be robbed of a tradition, unthinkable. It will be agreed."
Swiss Ski and the organizers in Wengen are fighting over the distribution of the income from television rights. The world association FIS is also interested in a future in Wengen. But the new project is also appealing. "November departures in Zermatt - that fits wonderfully in our calendar. We are fully behind the project," said FIS President Gian Franco Kasper, who will soon be leaving.
NZZ report
