Olympic Cross Course Design Revealed

SWITZERLAND (Nov. 14) - FIS has released the snowboardcross and skicross course designs for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. The course is located in the Extreme Park at Rosa Khutor ski area. This custom-designed course will provide one of the most dramatic settings for two of the youngest and most exciting FIS Olympic events. The 1250 meter-long course, which was designed over the last four years, will consist of a series of eight turn sections, punctuated by a series of jumps and roller sections. The course was successfully tested during the 2012-13 World Cup season when the Olympic test events were held in February, 2013. Feedback about the course in both disciplines was overwhelmingly positive.

HIGHLIGHTS

• FIS has released the snowboardcross and skicross course designs for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. The course is located in the Extreme Park at Rosa Khutor ski area.
• This custom-designed course will provide one of the most dramatic settings for two of the youngest and most exciting FIS Olympic events.
• The 1250 meter-long course, which was designed over the last four years, will consist of a series of eight turn sections, punctuated by a series of jumps and roller sections.
• The course was successfully tested during the 2012-13 World Cup season when the Olympic test events were held in February, 2013. Feedback about the course in both disciplines was overwhelmingly positive.
• Skiers and snowboarders will share the same start and finish areas in Sochi, with around 80 percent of the course sections to be shared as well. There will be one area where the course will split into separate ski and snowboard sections to specifically target each discipline's skills.
• In total, 64 skicross and 64 snowboardcross ladies and men will compete on the course during four days, with each heat clocking a time between 1:15 and 1:30 minutes.
• Snowboardcross (SBX) was introduced at the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games, while skicross (SX) was successfully introduced at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.
• For both freeskiing and snowboarding, the cross competition represents perhaps the most complete display of talent and skills, with jumps, turns, gates, speed and head-to-head competition testing every skill set.
• The FIS Technical Advisors David Ny (Sweden) and Nicolas Vaudroz (Switzerland) have built numerous World Cup and World Championship courses and their efforts, in cooperation with the FIS cross specialist and former German Olympian Martin Fiala, were used to create an exceptionally dynamic and challenging Olympic cross venue.

For more photos of the course design, please click here.