Preparations at the two competition locations, Avet and Àliga, are well under way in the build up to the historic event that will take place from 13th to 19th March 2023
The best skier of all time, Mikaela Shiffrin, who currently leads the women’s all-time rankings, will compete in the Soldeu El Tarter sectors of the Grandvalira ski area
Hosting the most important event in the history of the Pyrenees is a great opportunity for Andorra to showcase the country as the venue for the Andorra 2029 World Championships
Over the course of a week, Andorra will once again become the centre of attention on the world alpine skiing media stage when it hosts the World Cup Finals. For the second time, the Pyrenean country will host the great event, the next most important alpine skiing event after only the Olympic Games and World Championships. From 13th to 19th March, the twenty-five best skiers on the planet will compete in Grandvalira’s Soldeu El Tarter sectors in the downhill, Super G, slalom and giant slalom disciplines. The American Mikaela Shiffrin arrives with the best record in the history of alpine skiing and is close to overtaking the skier who has achieved the most victories of the Great White Carnival this season, Ingemar Stenmark. Televisions all over the world have already reserved their space at the foot of the two competition race venues, and photographers from major international agencies have also been accredited. The Italian company, Infront Sports, will once again be the producer in charge of broadcasting the images worldwide for the nine races that are scheduled on the Avet and Àliga courses.
Ninety skiers are expected to compete at the competition, when counting the male and female skiers in each discipline. The FAE will close registrations on 6th March. The organization expects to assemble 600 people from the sporting family and envisages equalling the number of attendees from 2019 with a total of 25,000 spectators.
Currently, the World Cup circuit is taking a break, as the World Championships begin this week in Courchevel-Méribel (France), an event that is held every two years.
The best skier of all time in Grandvalira
To date, the women’s overall rankings are headed by the American Mikaela Shiffrin, who has just broken the record for World Cup wins, overtaking Lindsey Vonn. They are followed by the Slovak, Petra Vlhova and the Swiss, Lara Gut-Behrami. In the men’s category, Swiss Marco Odermatt leads the rankings, followed by the Norwegians Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and Henrik Kristoffersen.
The Andorra la Vella Congress Centre was the venue that hosted the official presentation for the event this morning. Director General of the Organizing Committee, David Hidalgo, explained that the preparations for the two competition courses are well under way and on 3rd March they will undergo the International Ski Federation’s (FIS) 'snow control’ test. The event was attended by the Head of Government of the Principality of Andorra, Xavier Espot in his capacity as Honorary President of the Organizing Committee, who stressed that “Andorra has the opportunity to demonstrate to the world that our size does not prevent us from playing an exemplary role, from doing things well and from demonstrating that this project is built on the work carried out by many people over many years.” Francesc Camp, the Mayor of Canillo, also took the floor and called for everyone to fill the spectator areas and stands on the Avet and the Àliga courses. For his part, Xavier Cornella, CEO of Crèdit Andorrà, the main sponsor, reminded us that the financial entity has a long history of offering support to alpine skiing events and that time has vindicated this commitment. The Vice President of the Andorran Ski Federation (FAE) Patrick Toussaint appreciated and highlighted the fact that two Andorran skiers are competing on the World Cup circuit.
One of the defining features of this edition of the World Cup Finals is the parallel events program. This includes the opening ceremony on 13th March at 19:30h with the Avet course as a backdrop, and the bib collection ceremony at L'Abarset on 17th March at 19:00h where fans will be able to see their idols up close. There’s also the trade village weekend in Soldeu with entertainment, a Greatest Hits Concert with Los40 Principales (Top 40 music radio network) and gastronomy, and the final party for the volunteers, also at L'Abarset.
One of the great international festivals at L’Abarset
L’Abarset will have a busy entertainment agenda throughout the week in keeping with the level of this prestigious sporting event, where we should highlight the session on Saturday, 18th March 2023 in particular. Wade, the king of ‘tech-house’ will literally rock the house at the top après-ski venue in the Pyrenees, which is located in El Tarter. Juan Carlos Cruz, his real name, is a mainstay of the top international electronic music festivals that manage to attract more than 50,000 people.
There are less than 35 days left till the biggest sporting milestone in the history of the Pyrenees, a great opportunity for Grandvalira and Andorra to be showcased as the candidate venue for the Andorra 2029 World Championships. It is the second time that the ski station hosts a World Cup Finals and the fourth time that it forms part of the circuit.
The main sponsors of the World Cup Finals are: Crèdit Andorrà, Andorra Turisme, Comú de Canillo, FAE, Allianz, Nòrdic Hotel, Altavista and Park Piolets.