Saslong
Place: Italy Val Gardena/Gröden
Mountain: Langkofel, Dolomites
Member: Club5+
Opened: 1969
Level: expert
Downhill
Start: 2,249 m (7,379 ft) (AA)
Finish: 1,410 m (4,626 ft)
Vertical drop:    839 m (2,753 ft)
Length: 3.446 km (2.14 mi)
Max. incline: 29.6 degrees (56.9%)
Avg. incline: 13.8 degrees (24.5%)
Min. incline:   6.4 degrees (11.2%)
Most wins (M): Austria Franz Klammer (4x)
Italy Kristian Ghedina (4x)
Most wins (L): Slovenia Ilka Štuhec (1x)
Super-G
Start: 2,000 m (6,562 ft) (AA)
Finish: 1,410 m (4,626 ft)
Vertical drop:    590 m (1,936 ft)
Length: 2.365 km (1.47 mi)
Max. incline: 29.6 degrees (56.9%)
Avg. incline: 14.0 degrees (24.9%)
Min. incline:   6.5 degrees (11.4%)
Most wins (M): Norway Aksel Lund Svindal (5x)
Most wins (L): Slovenia Ilka Štuhec (1x)

Saslong is a World Cup downhill ski course in Italy just above Val Gardena/Gröden. Located on the Langkofel in the Dolomites, the race course made its World Cup debut in February 1969.[1] The ski course is named after the mountain Saslonch (German: Langkofel, Italian: Sassolungo) with an adapted spelling.

Val Gardena is located in Italy
Val Gardena
Val Gardena

Course sections edit

Spinel edit

Difficult jump short after the start, into the steepest section (56.9% gradient), then virtual change direction in mid-air to compression.

Saut dl Moro edit

A forty-metre (130 ft) jump which takes skiers into the second compression.

Looping edit

Muri di Sochers edit

Fifteen-to-twenty-metre (49 to 66 ft) jump in the air, followed by a flat, yet intense, left-right-left gate combination ending at the 1st Mauer ("Wall").

Skiers jump approximately 35 metres (115 ft) directly to the 1st Mauer and have to sway to the right to the 2nd Mauer.

The jump on the 2nd Mauer contemporaneously serves as the entry into the flat section leading to the 1st Camel Hump with top speed at 130 km/h (81 mph).

Gobbe del Cammello (Camel Humps) edit

The Camel Humps represent the most spectacular section of the Saslong. They were named by the late and former Austrian FIS TD Sepp Sulzberger.

Uli Spiess from Austria was the first athlete to attempt and succeed in jumping all three Humps at the same time instead of taking each jump separately.

Since Spiess' premiere, skiers today mostly absorb the first jump (a.k.a. "Girardelli Line") and leap from the second over the third.

The record jump belongs to Austrian skier Michael Walchhofer who leaped 88 metres (289 ft) reaching a height of 4–5 meters in 2003.

Ciaslat edit

Ciaslat with its corrugated ripples and bumps is where the race is often decided. In this technically very demanding section of the course racers face overall 17 different ripples.

Nucia (Tunnel) edit

Skiers take the Nucia jump into the final schuss following the exit from Ciaslat.

Schuss edit

The jump owes its name to the new tunnel that runs below the Final schuss and is part of the new street by-passing St.Christina which was opened in 2009.

World Cup edit

 
Downhill start
 
Upper section
 
Upper section
 
Intermediate section
 
Werner Heel
 
Bode Miller
 
Final section
 
Finish area

The first downhill winner in February 1969 was Jean-Daniel Dätwyler from Switzerland, and this annual ski event is part of the prestigious Saslong Classic competition.

Saslong hosted the World Championships in 1970, which also counted for 1970 World Cup season points and wins/podiums statistics.

On 23 March 1975, Saslong hosted the first parallel slalom in history, Gustav Thöni won in front of 40,000, beating Ingemar Stenmark in the final.[2]

Men edit

Event Key: DH – Downhill, SG – Super Giant Slalom, KB – Combined, PS – Parallel Slalom
No. Type Season Date Winner Second Third
51 DH 1968/69 14 February 1969     Jean-Daniel Dätwyler   Henri Duvillard   Rudi Sailer
79 DH 1969/70 15 February 1970     Bernhard Russi   Karl Cordin   Malcolm Milne
128 DH 1971/72 15 March 1972     Bernhard Russi   René Berthod   Mike Lafferty
135 DH 1972/73 15 February 1973     Roland Collombin   Karl Cordin   David Zwilling
203 DH 1974/75 21 March 1975     Franz Klammer   Erik Håker   Bernhard Russi
204 PS 23 March 1975     Gustav Thöni   Ingemar Stenmark   Walter Tresch
232 DH 1976/77 17 December 1976     Franz Klammer   Herbert Plank   Erik Håker
233 DH 18 December 1976     Franz Klammer   Josef Walcher   Bernhard Russi
267 DH 1977/78 18 December 1977     Herbert Plank   Peter Wirnsberger I   Franz Klammer
289 DH 1978/79 16 December 1978     Josef Walcher   Peter Müller   Walter Vesti
290 DH 17 December 1978     Erik Håker   Peter Müller   Ken Read
323 DH 1979/80 17 December 1979     Peter Müller   Erik Håker   Werner Grissmann
324 KB 11 December 1979  
Madonna di Cam. (SL)  
----------------------------  
17 December 1979  
Val Gardena (DH)  
  Peter Lüscher   Andreas Wenzel   Anton Steiner
348 DH 1980/81 14 December 1980     Peter Müller   Harti Weirather   Steve Podborski
349 KB 9 December 1980  
Madonna di Cam. (SL)  
----------------------------  
14 December 1980  
Val Gardena (DH)  
  Peter Müller   Leonhard Stock   Andreas Wenzel
350 DH 15 December 1980     Harti Weirather   Uli Spieß   Peter Müller
385 DH 1981/82 13 December 1981     Erwin Resch   Konrad Bartelski   Leonhard Stock
386 KB 9 December 1981  
Madonna di Cam. (SL)  
----------------------------  
13 December 1981  
Val Gardena (DH)  
  Phil Mahre   Andreas Wenzel   Even Hole
417 DH 1982/83 19 December 1982     Conradin Cathomen   Erwin Resch   Franz Klammer
418 KB 12 December 1982  
Val d'Isere (SG)  
----------------------------  
19 December 1982  
Val Gardena (DH)  
  Franz Heinzer   Peter Müller   Peter Lüscher
419 DH 20 December 1982     Franz Klammer   Peter Müller   Urs Räber
458 DH 1983/84 18 December 1983     Urs Räber   Todd Brooker   Steve Podborski
459 SG 19 December 1983     Pirmin Zurbriggen   Martin Hangl   Leonhard Stock
461 KB 19 December 1983  
Val Gardena (SG)  
----------------------------  
20 December 1983  
Madonna di Cam. (SL)  
  Andreas Wenzel   Thomas Bürgler   Alex Giorgi
493 DH 1984/85 15 December 1984     Helmut Höflehner   Conradin Cathomen   Peter Wirnsberger I
528 DH 1985/86 14 December 1985     Peter Wirnsberger I   Peter Müller   Sepp Wildgruber
530 KB 14 December 1985  
Val Gardena (DH)  
----------------------------  
15 December 1985  
Alta Badia (GS)  
  Marc Girardelli   Niklas Henning   Pirmin Zurbriggen
575 DH 1986/87 13 December 1986     Rob Boyd   Michael Mair   Markus Wasmeier
606 DH 1987/88 12 December 1987     Rob Boyd   Pirmin Zurbriggen   Brian Stemmle
636 DH 1988/89 9 December 1988     Peter Müller   Armin Assinger   Rob Boyd
637 DH 10 December 1988     Helmut Höflehner   Patrick Ortlieb   Peter Müller
673 DH 1989/90 16 December 1989     Pirmin Zurbriggen   Franz Heinzer   Kristian Ghedina
703 DH 1990/91 14 December 1990     Franz Heinzer   Berni Huber   Atle Skårdal
704 DH 15 December 1990     Atle Skårdal   Rob Boyd   Luc Alphand
733 DH 1991/92 14 December 1991     Franz Heinzer   Leonhard Stock   Atle Skårdal
764 DH 1992/93 11 December 1992     William Besse   Jan Einar Thorsen   Patrick Ortlieb
765 DH 12 December 1992     Leonhard Stock   William Besse   A J Kitt
801 DH 1993/94 17 December 1993     Markus Foser   Werner Franz   Marc Girardelli
802 DH 18 December 1993     Patrick Ortlieb   Daniel Mahrer   Jean-Luc Crétier
870 DH 1995/96 16 December 1995     Patrick Ortlieb   Xavier Gigandet   Luc Alphand
904 DH 1996/97 20 December 1996     Luc Alphand   Atle Skårdal   Kristian Ghedina
905 DH 21 December 1996     Kristian Ghedina   Luc Alphand   Josef Strobl
978 DH 1998/99 18 December 1998     Lasse Kjus   Werner Franz   Hermann Maier
979 DH 19 December 1998     Kristian Ghedina   Lasse Kjus   Werner Franz
1013 DH 1999/00 17 December 1999     Kristian Ghedina   Josef Strobl   Ed Podivinsky
1014 DH 18 December 1999     Andreas Schifferer   Kristian Ghedina   Hermann Maier
DH 2000/01 16 December 2000   cancelled; replaced in Val-d'Isère on same dates
SG 17 December 2000  
1085 DH 2001/02 14 December 2001     Kristian Ghedina   Lasse Kjus   Kurt Sulzenbacher
1086 DH 15 December 2001     Stephan Eberharter   Michael Walchhofer   Kjetil André Aamodt
1123 SG 2002/03 20 December 2002       Didier Défago   Hannes Reichelt   Marco Büchel
1124 DH 21 December 2002     Antoine Dénériaz   Michael Walchhofer   Josef Strobl
1160 SG 2003/04 19 December 2003     Lasse Kjus   Stephan Eberharter   Hermann Maier
1161 DH 20 December 2003     Antoine Dénériaz   Michael Walchhofer   Hans Knauß
1199 SG 2004/05 17 December 2004     Michael Walchhofer   Hermann Maier   Benjamin Raich
1200 DH 18 December 2004     Max Rauffer   Jürg Grünenfelder   Hans Grugger
1235 SG 2005/06 17 December 2005     Hans Grugger   Erik Guay   Ambrosi Hoffmann
1236 DH 17 December 2005     Marco Büchel   Michael Walchhofer   Erik Guay
1270 SG 2006/07 15 December 2006     Bode Miller   Christoph Gruber   John Kucera
1271 DH 16 December 2006     Steven Nyman   Didier Cuche   Fritz Strobl
1308 SG 2007/08 14 December 2007     Didier Cuche   Bode Miller   Marco Büchel
1309 DH 15 December 2007     Michael Walchhofer   Didier Cuche   Scott Macartney
1347 SG 2008/09 19 December 2008     Werner Heel   Didier Défago   Patrik Järbyn
1348 DH 20 December 2008     Michael Walchhofer   Bode Miller   Manuel Osborne-Paradis
1384 SG 2009/10 18 December 2009     Aksel Lund Svindal   Carlo Janka   Patrick Staudacher
1385 DH 19 December 2009     Manuel Osborne-Paradis   Mario Scheiber   Ambrosi Hoffmann
  Johan Clarey
1415 SG 2010/11 17 December 2010     Michael Walchhofer   Stephan Keppler   Erik Guay
1416 DH 18 December 2010     Silvan Zurbriggen   Romed Baumann   Didier Cuche
1452 SG 2011/12 16 December 2011     Beat Feuz   Bode Miller   Kjetil Jansrud
DH 17 December 2011   cancelled after 21 skiers due to strong winds; replaced on 3 February 2012
1497 SG 2012/13 14 December 2012     Aksel Lund Svindal   Matteo Marsaglia   Werner Heel
1498 DH 15 December 2012     Steven Nyman   Rok Perko   Erik Guay
1531 SG 2013/14 20 December 2013     Aksel Lund Svindal   Jan Hudec   Adrien Théaux
1532 DH 21 December 2013     Erik Guay   Kjetil Jansrud   Johan Clarey
1565 DH 2014/15 19 December 2014     Steven Nyman   Kjetil Jansrud   Dominik Paris
1566 SG 20 December 2014     Kjetil Jansrud   Dominik Paris   Hannes Reichelt
1601 DH 2015/16 18 December 2015     Aksel Lund Svindal   Kjetil Jansrud   Aleksander Aamodt Kilde
1602 SG 19 December 2015     Aksel Lund Svindal   Guillermo Fayed   Kjetil Jansrud
1644 SG 2016/17 16 December 2016     Kjetil Jansrud   Aleksander Aamodt Kilde   Erik Guay
1645 DH 17 December 2016     Max Franz   Aksel Lund Svindal   Steven Nyman
1681 SG 2017/18 15 December 2017     Josef Ferstl   Max Franz   Matthias Mayer
1682 DH 16 December 2017     Aksel Lund Svindal   Kjetil Jansrud   Max Franz
1716 SG 2018/19 14 December 2018     Aksel Lund Svindal   Christof Innerhofer   Kjetil Jansrud
1717 DH 15 December 2018     Aleksander Aamodt Kilde   Max Franz   Beat Feuz
1757 SG 2019/20 20 December 2019     Vincent Kriechmayr   Kjetil Jansrud   Thomas Dreßen
DH 21 December 2019   heavy snowfall; replaced in Bormio on 27 December 2019
1789 SG 2020/21 18 December 2020     Aleksander Aamodt Kilde   Mauro Caviezel   Kjetil Jansrud
1790 DH 19 December 2020     Aleksander Aamodt Kilde   Ryan Cochran-Siegle   Beat Feuz
1826 SG 2021/22 17 December 2021     Aleksander Aamodt Kilde   Matthias Mayer   Vincent Kriechmayr
1827 DH 18 December 2021     Bryce Bennett   Otmar Striedinger     Niels Hintermann
1862 DH 2022/23 15 December 2022     Vincent Kriechmayr     Marco Odermatt   Matthias Mayer
SG 16 December 2022   cancelled due to bad weather conditions.
1863 DH 17 December 2022     Aleksander Aamodt Kilde   Johan Clarey   Mattia Casse

 World Championships, also counted for World Cup. 
 Not part of classic Saslong competition. It only replaced Lake Louise (2001), Beaver Creek (2022) 

Women edit

No. Type Season Date Winner Second Third
1611 DH 2018/19 18 December 2018     Ilka Štuhec   Tina Weirather
  Nicole Schmidhofer
1612 SG 19 December 2018     Ilka Štuhec   Nicol Delago   Ramona Siebenhofer

Club5+ edit

In 1986, elite Club5 was originally founded by prestigious classic downhill organizers: Kitzbühel, Wengen, Garmisch, Val d’Isère and Val Gardena/Gröden, with goal to bring alpine ski sport on the highest levels possible.[3]

Later over the years other classic longterm organizers joined the now named Club5+: Alta Badia, Cortina, Kranjska Gora, Maribor, Lake Louise, Schladming, Adelboden, Kvitfjell, St.Moritz and Åre.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ "Facts & Infos of race-slope". saslong.org. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Spet Thöni (page 9)" (in Slovenian). Delo. 24 March 1975.
  3. ^ "Srečko Medven predsednik elitnega združenje (page 9)" (in Slovenian). Naše novice. June 2010.
  4. ^ "Club5+ workshop in Adelboden". saslong.org. 23 October 2021.

External links edit

46°33′22″N 11°43′48″E / 46.556°N 11.73°E / 46.556; 11.73