What are the Alpine Skiing World Cup events?
The descent
The men's and women's downhill is a speed event, with peak speeds of up to 160 km/h. In the Alpine Skiing World Cup, the slopes are more challenging, with curves and jumps of up to ten meters. Male skiers descend a run with a vertical drop of 750 to 1,100 meters, while female skiers descend a run with a vertical drop of 450 to 800 meters. There are also gates to pass through, the number of which varies according to the run. The event consists of a single run.
Super-G
Another speed event on the Alpine Skiing World Cup is the Super-G World Cup. This discipline is much more technical than the downhill, since the vertical drop is smaller and the gates are closer together. Female skiers compete on a run with a vertical drop of between 400 and 600 meters, and male skiers on a run with a vertical drop of between 400 and 650 meters. 28 gates must be passed in a single run.
Giant slalom
The fastest event in alpine skiing, however, is the women's and men's giant slalom: a curved course with more gates to overcome. It takes place over 2 runs, with vertical drops of between 250 and 400 meters. Competitors must pass through between 30 and 65 gates, and the cumulative time over the two runs determines the winner.
Slalom
The special slalom is a highly technical discipline. It differs from the giant slalom in that the poles are closer together and the turns more frequent. It's an impressive Alpine Skiing World Cup event to watch, as skiers can collide with the front poles at any time. The course has a vertical drop of between 140 and 220 meters, with 75 poles per line, and is contested in 2 runs.
Alpine combined
It's impossible to talk about the Alpine Skiing World Cup without mentioning the Alpine Combined: it consists of a downhill or Super-G run, and a Slalom run. Competitive skiers must therefore be highly versatile, mastering both technique and speed.
The parallel
Finally, Parallel is a new mixed discipline in which skiers compete in pairs. They ski down two identical parallel runs, with a vertical drop of between 80 and 100 metres. There are around 30 gates to pass through per run. The duel takes place in two rounds.
The KANDAHAR in Chamonix in 2023
The Kandahar is an emblematic race that takes place on "La verte", a renowned piste in the Les Houches ski area near Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. This race, programmed by the Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS), is now part of the Alpine Skiing World Cup. The next Kandahar races will take place on February 3 and 4, 2023.
This legendary race is one of the biggest events in the Chamonix Valley and contributes to the reputation of the resort. It's a benchmark race: in fact, the Verte des Houches is the only downhill run in the Haute-Savoie department to have been awarded World Cup status. But it's only green in name: it's lined with fir trees, but it's really a black run, with a vertical drop of 870 m and a length of 3,343 m.
The world's most skilled skiers descend it in 2 minutes, after overcoming highly technical sections and jumps (the Cassure and the Goulet). It's one of the most beautiful runs in the world, and you can admire the best skiers during the Kandahar 2022-2023 season! Then there's the big crystal globe , awarded to the winner of the overall World Cup standings in every event contested.
