Rock (ski course)
| Rock | |
|---|---|
| Place: |  Yanqing District
|
| Architect(s): | Bernhard Russi (main) Didier Defago (assistant) |
| Mountain: | Xiaohaituo Mountain |
| Resort: | National Alpine Ski Centre |
| Opened: | 3 February 2022 |
| Level: |  expert
|
| Downhill | |
| Men | |
| Start: | 2,179 m (7,149 ft) (AA) |
| Finish: | 1,285 m (4,216 ft) |
| Vertical drop: | 894 m (2,933 ft) |
| Length: | 3.152 km (1.96 mi) |
| Max. incline: | 34.2 degrees (68%) |
| Time record: | 1:42.01 (Vincent Kriechmayr) |
| Top speed: | 139.7 km/h (86.8 mph) Adrian Smiseth Sejersted |
| Women | |
| Start: | 2,050 m (6,726 ft) (AA) |
| Finish: | 1,285 m (4,216 ft) |
| Vertical drop: | 765 m (2,510 ft) |
| Length: | 2.704 km (1.68 mi) |
| Time record: | 1:31.87 (Corinne Suter) |
Rock is the Olympic downhill ski course in China, located in Yanqing District, part of National Alpine Ski Centre resort, opened in 2022.[1][2]
It is approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) northwest of Beijing, which hosted the speed alpine skiing events of the 2022 Winter Olympics. The course was designed by Bernhard Russi, assisted by Didier Defago; both are Olympic downhill champions (1972, 2010) from Switzerland. According to Russi, "Rock" is most similar to the "Birds of Prey" course in the United States, located at Beaver Creek, Colorado.[3]
This course has a very unusual terrain configuration, which has no resemblance to any other top level course around the world, as it runs mostly along the top of the ridge and in the canyon in bottom part.
History
Bernhard Russi, a retired Swiss downhill racer and course architect who planned and constructed six Olympic downhill courses, designed this very steep and unusual course for seven years.[3][4]
Two years prior to the Olympics, men's World Cup events (downhill, super-G) were scheduled for this course in February 2020, but were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
On 7 February 2022, Beat Feuz took the gold medal at downhill, his last missing trophy, at premiere competition on this course. Adrian Smiseth Sejersted set the course top speed record at 139.7 km/h (86.8 mph).[6]
Olympics
Men
| Date | Type | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 February 2022 | DH |  Beat Feuz |
 Johan Clarey |
 Matthias Mayer
|
| 8 February 2022 | SG | Matthias Mayer |
 Ryan Cochran-Siegle |
 Aleksander Aamodt Kilde
|
| 10 February 2022 | AC | Johannes Strolz |
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde |
 James Crawford
|
- Slalom in men's Alpine combined event was held on "Ice River" course.
Women
| Date | Type | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 February 2022 | SG | Lara Gut-Behrami |
Mirjam Puchner |
Michelle Gisin
|
| 15 February 2022 | DH | Corinne Suter |
 Sofia Goggia |
Nadia Delago
|
| 17 February 2022 | AC | Michelle Gisin |
Wendy Holdener |
Federica Brignone
|
- Slalom in women's Alpine combined event was held on "Ice River" course.
World Cup
Men
| Date | Type | Winner | Second | Third | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 February 2020 | DH | cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| 16 February 2020 | SG | |||||
Profile
Course is very wavy and curvy in the upper section, very steep in midsection, and gliding part in bottom section. Course has long and fast curves, steep transitions and four big jumps.
Course sections
- Start, High Cloud, Pine Forest, White Face, Galleria, Dwen Dwen jump, Silk Road, Sugar jump, Roller Coaster, Rhon Rhon jump, Haituo Bowl, Canyon, Cliff jump, Finish.
References
- ^ "China claims to be holding the greenest Olympics..." CNN. 29 January 2022.
- ^ "First official men's downhill training (premiere on this course)" (PDF). International Ski Federation. 29 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Sedem let risal pekinški smuk, atraktiven kot proga Ptic roparic" (in Slovenian). Siol. 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Skiing into the unknown: Beijing's man-made Olympic pistes". France 24. 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Coronavirus outbreak forces cancellation of opening Beijing 2022 test event". insidethegames. 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Beat Feuz grabs Olympic gold in downhill; Johan Clarey makes history with silver in Beijing". ESPN. 7 February 2022.
External links
- beijing2022.cn official