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Dec
01

“Men at work” on the Stelvio. Snow and cold have arrived!

Massimo Rinaldi festeggia Christof InnerhoferWith the first real snowfall, followed by the cold weather, SIB and the Organising Committee have started to prepare the “Stelvio” in Bormio, the slope where the fastest racers of the alpine skiing circuit will fight for the first place next December 29, 2012.

The upper part of the slope is already covered by “real” snow, while on the lowest part 47 snow-cannons are working from La Rocca to the finish area (when temperatures are suitable for that.)

Massimo Rinaldi, the Race Director and Coordinator of the Italian team, is in Colorado at the moment. Yesterday he celebrated the success of Christof Innerhofer, but keeps in constant contact with Bormio and the team working on the Stelvio.

Massimo Rinaldi says that “there aren’t many news in Bormio if compared to the previous years, and they all deal with the safety of the racers. Staring this year, on the right side of the Canalino Sertorelli, there will be three rows of “B” safety nets instead of two (those safety nets are the type that hold the racers in case of a fall that is close to the ground – Editor’s note.) Same thing at the exit of Carcentina, where there is already a fixed “A” safety net and where there will be three rows of “B” safety nets and two 8 meters “air-fence” pillows to stop the racers in case of fall on the hard counterslope.”

Rinaldi adds that,”Chicco Pedrini, the man in charge of the security set up, is working on the slope with the SIB team who is making the snow. He is rolling out the safety nets and he’s fixing the “A” safety nets while waiting for enough snow to start positioning all the “B” safety nets. The cold is coming and the snow-cannons are not working 100%, but we still have time to be ready for the FIS Snow Control on December 16.”

“Thanks to the work SIB did in the summer, we’ll need less snow than the previous years. SIB removed all the weeds and branches from the slope and now it’s like a billiard table … to make all white!”

The Stelvio is a particularly difficult and tiring slope because of its undulations. The more snow, the easier it is. Thanks to the work of last summer and the skills of the SIB team in producing and moving the snow, the slope will be perfect. Then, and as always, it’ll become “aggressive” thanks to the FIS team.