Roc de Fer
Place:Méribel
Opened:10 February 1990
Downhill
Start:2,150 m (7,054 ft) (AA)
Finish:1,465 m (4,806 ft)
Vertical drop: 685 m (2,247 ft)
Length:2.413 km (1.50 mi)
Max. incline:28.8 degrees (55%)
Min. incline: 5.1 degrees (9%)

Roc de Fer (French: "iron rock") is a World Cup downhill Alpine skiing course in Méribel, France, which is part of the large interlinked ski area known as Les Trois Vallées in the Savoie department of France, near Mont Blanc. The course was originally created for the 1992 Winter Olympics and has since played host to the World Cup season finals in 2015 and 2022 and the 2023 FIS World Ski Championships, the latter two in conjunction with the L’Éclipse course in the neighboring town of Courchevel.

Roc de Fer is considered venue for 2030 Winter Olympics Alpine skiing events.[1]

History

Although Méribel has hosted an Alpine skiing slope with a chair lift since 1938, when the resort was developed and opened by a former Scottish military officer and avid skier named Peter Lindsay,[2] and then expanded dramatically as a ski resort after World War II,[3] it still needed a course upgrade when it was designated to host some of the skiing events for the 1992 Winter Olympics, which were centered in nearby Albertville.[4]

According to the official record of the 1992 Games, the Roc de Fer course was developed after studying the sporting aspect and the environmental impact of the new course.[5] For those Olympics, for which some of the course development was handled by former Olympic gold medalist Bernhard Russi, all five of the women's alpine events (downhill, Super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and combined) were planned for (and took place at) Roc de Fer.[5]

In advance preparation for the Olympics, on 10–11 February 1990, the new Roc de Fer course was opened with two World Cup Super-Gs, both won by Carol Merle.[6][7][8] Less than a year later in 1991, Petra Kronberger won consecutive World Cup events in downhill and Super-G.[9]

During the Olympics, some of the female skiers were displeased with being "isolated" in Méribel instead of being housed in a communal Olympic village, as had been the case in the prior Olympics in Calgary.[10]

After the Olympics, outside of a slalom in 1994, the Roc de Fer course remained dormant on the World Cup circuit for twenty years.[11] But then, a women's World Cup downhill and combined were held on the course on 23-24 February 2013, and the course once again returned to the World Cup circuit.[11] More significantly, the course hosted the World Cup season finals in 2015 and later co-hosted both the season finals in 2022 (hosting all of the men's and women's technical events (giant slalom, slalom, and mixed team parallel)) and the 2023 FIS World Ski Championships (hosting all of the traditional women's events, similar to the 1992 Winter Olympics, as well as both men's and women's individual parallel giant slalom and the mixed team parallel event) in combination with the L’Éclipse course in Courchevel.[11]

Also, during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Méribel held a celebration in honor of the 30th anniversary of the 1992 Olympic skiing at Roc de Fer and the hockey in the town.[12]

Events

Winter Olympics

YearDateEventWinnerSecond placeThird place
↓ Women ↓
199212–13 February  KBPetra KronbergerAnita WachterFlorence Masnada
15 February  DHKerrin Lee-GartnerHilary LindhVeronika Wallinger
18 February  SGDeborah CompagnoniCarole MerleKatja Seizinger
19 February  GSPernilla WibergAnita Wachter
Diann Roffe
20 February  SLPetra KronbergerAnnelise CobergerB. Fernández Ochoa

World Championships

YearDateEventWinnerSecond placeThird place
↓ Women ↓
20236 February  ACFederica Brignone   Wendy HoldenerRicarda Haaser
8 February  SGMarta BassinoMikaela ShiffrinCornelia Hütter
Kajsa Vickhoff Lie
11 February  DH   Jasmine FluryNina Ortlieb   Corinne Suter
15 February  PG  Maria Therese Tviberg   Wendy Holdener  Thea L. Stjernesund
16 February  GSMikaela ShiffrinFederica Brignone  Ragnhild Mowinckel
18 February  SLLaurence St-GermainMikaela ShiffrinLena Dürr
↓ Men ↓
202315 February  PGAlexander SchmidDominik Raschner  Timon Haugan
↓ Alpine team event ↓
202314 February  PG
(Team)

World Cup

SeasonDateEventWinnerSecond placeThird place
↓ Women ↓
1989/9010 February  SGCarole Merle   Maria WalliserMichaela Gerg
11 February  SGCarole MerleKatja Seizinger   Maria Walliser
1990/9119 January  DHPetra KronbergerCarole MerleVeronika Wallinger
20 January  SGPetra KronbergerMichaela GergCarole Merle
1994/9530 December  SLUrška Hrovat   Vreni SchneiderLeila Piccard
2012/1323 February  DHCarolina Ruiz CastilloMaria Höfl-RieschMarie Marchand-Arvier
24 February  KBTina MazeNicole HospMichaela Kirchgasser
2014/1518 March  DHLindsey VonnElisabeth GörglNicole Hosp
19 March  SGLindsey VonnAnna FenningerTina Maze
21 March  SLMikaela ShiffrinFrida HansdotterVeronika Velez-Zuzulová
22 March  GSAnna FenningerEva-Maria BremTina Maze
2021/2219 March  SLAndreja SlokarLena DürrPetra Vlhová
20 March  GSFederica BrignoneMarta BassinoPetra Vlhová
↓ Men ↓
2014/1518 March  DH  Kjetil Jansrud   Didier DéfagoGeorg Streitberger
19 March  SGDustin Cook  Kjetil JansrudBrice Roger
21 March  GS  Henrik KristoffersenFritz DopferThomas Fanara
22 March  SLMarcel HirscherGiuliano RazzoliAlexander Khoroshilov
2021/2219 March  GS   Marco Odermatt  Lucas Braathen   Loïc Meillard
20 March  SL  Atle Lie McGrath  Henrik KristoffersenManuel Feller
↓ Alpine team events ↓
2014/1520 March  PG
(Team)
2021/2218 March  PG
(Team)

Course sections

  • Petit Col – Departs des Militaires – Bosse De Anglais – Tunnel – Beage's Wall – La Traverse – Pracua – Le Goulet – Le Stade

One source described the Roc de Fer downhill course as "having a steep start", permitting skiers to accelerate to over 100 km/hour in less than eight seconds, but then requiring more technical skills due to both turns and "many rolls and bumps".[13]

References

  1. ^ https://olympics.com/en/news/olympic-winter-games-french-alps-2030-top-facts-you-need-to-know-about-the-host
  2. ^ "Meribel: The Mad Military Men Behind The Ski Resort". Forces.net. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  3. ^ "The history of Meribel". Ski Basics. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Albertville 1992: 30 years of Olympic legacy in France’s leading ski resorts". IOC. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Albertville 1992 Official Report". Le Comité d'Organisation des Jeux Olympiques Albertville. LA84 Foundation. 1992. Archived from the original on February 26, 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  6. ^ Associated Press (12 February 1990). "Winter Sports -- Healthy Merle Wins Again". Seattle Times. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Carole Merle tekmicam ni pustila blizu" (in Slovene). Delo. 12 February 1990. p. 9.
  8. ^ "Carole Merle wins super-G (Meribel 1990)". YouTube. 12 February 1990.
  9. ^ "Petra Velika se še ni naveličala zmag" (in Slovene). Delo. 21 January 1991. p. 9.
  10. ^ Associated Press (20 February 1992). "Olympic Notebook". AP News. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  11. ^ Revuelta, Raúl (5 February 2023). "Roc de Fer. Courchevel-Méribel 2023 Racecourse". Ski Paradise. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Méribel celebrates the 30th anniversary of the 1992 Olympic Games". Meribel.net. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  13. ^ Associated Press (11 February 2023). "Swiss skier Jasmine Flury wins downhill gold as favorites falter". ESPN.com. Retrieved 22 February 2023.