Russian President Dmitry Medvedev congratulated the winners of the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup stage held in Sochi from February 7 to 12. This stage took place as part of the trial runs on the Olympic ski slopes in "Rosa Khutor." The world’s top skiers gathered in the capital city of the 2014 Winter Olympics. February 11, Saturday. Swiss athlete Didier Défago won the downhill skiing event, with Canadian Erik Guay and Frenchman Johan Clarey taking second and third places, respectively. All participants noted that the competition was well-prepared, with the downhill course being extremely challenging.
Over the past week, all major sports news outlets have reported on the Olympic ski slopes in "Rosa Khutor." In two years’ time, athletes will compete for medals at the 22nd Winter Olympics on these very slopes. Journalists who came to Sochi to cover the trial runs were especially eager to hear the athletes’ impressions of the Olympic downhill course. The world’s top skiers, when asked, all described the slope as excellent. They highlighted its strengths in detail — well-prepared, technically complex, with an interesting terrain featuring many steep turns, yet offering incredibly high speeds. Skiers reached speeds of over 135 km/h while descending the course. Johan Clarey, the French athlete who finished third in this race, admitted that the new Olympic slope is a true test for any skier.
He said the slope has steep gradients and sharp turns, making it a genuine Olympic-level course. Only the strongest skiers can win here. I definitely hope to compete here again, especially after performing so well in this trial run. I really liked the organization of the event, the atmosphere was fantastic, and I’m satisfied and would love to return to Sochi for the Olympic competition.
Russian skiers only managed to place below 40th in this Sochi competition, with the best result being 44th. That spot was taken by recently naturalized Russian skier Andrej Sporný, formerly from Slovakia. For him, competing in this trial run in Sochi marked his first World Cup stage as a member of the Russian national team.
Sporný said the slope is complex. I’ve competed in all World Cup stages, and I can say this was the toughest course for me. My goal is to compete in the Olympics here and achieve good results. I still have two years to prepare.
Participants of the trial run expressed their desire to return to Sochi in two years to compete in the Winter Olympics. Within the Russian Skiing and Bobsleigh Federation, there is hope that Sochi will retain the right to host World Cup stages even after the 2014 Winter Olympics.