Bormio, a charming mountain town in northern Italy. Boasts one of the most demanding ski racecourses in the world: the Stelvio. Renowned for its steep, icy, bumpy, and lightning-fast terrain. The Stelvio pushes even the most skilled skiers to their limits and frequently leads to injuries. With the Winter Olympic 2026 set to feature Bormio’s iconic course, it will undoubtedly test the world’s best athletes.
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During training for the men’s downhill in late December, three athletes suffered serious injuries. Including Cyprien Sarrazin, who last year conquered the sport’s three most challenging courses Bormio, Wengen, and Kitzbühel. At the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, Bormio’s iconic Stelvio course will host all the men’s alpine events. Along with the debut of ski mountaineering as an Olympic discipline.
The Stelvio’s unforgiving nature might make it the greatest Olympic downhill course in the past 50 years. The winner of the men’s downhill will truly be the best skier on the mountain. No one has ever gotten lucky at Bormio, says Doug Lewis. A bronze medalist in the 1985 World Championship downhill on the Stelvio. Lewis, now a seasoned TV analyst and live race announcer, knows the course’s demands well.
Here’s why the Stelvio is considered one of the toughest courses and why it could deliver the most thrilling men’s alpine Olympic competition in recent history. Unlike most Olympic downhills of the past 50 years typically built specifically for the Games. And rarely used afterward, Bormio’s Stelvio is a course rich in history and tradition.
Winter Olympic: The Legacy of Bormio’s Stelvio Course
The Stelvio made its debut on the world stage during the 1985 World Finals, where a 21-year-old Doug Lewis sued bronze. Finishing just 0.14 seconds behind Switzerland’s Zurbriggen, who later saved Olympic gold in the 1988 men’s downhill. Shiny on the 2026 Olympics, Lewis says, You’ll have more links to draw. It’s upbeat to think about who will rise to the case and join the ranks of victors who’ve ruled this course.
Swiss downhiller Pirmin Zurbriggen is just one of many legends to succeed on the Stelvio. Hermann Maier claimed victory in three World Cup races at Bormio, while Olympic medalists Fritz Strobl, Lasse Kjus, Aksel Lund Svindal, and Michael Walchhofer have each secured at least one World Cup win on the course. Italy’s Dominik Paris stands out with an absurd seven wins six in downhill and one in super-G.
Bormio is a classic downhill, says Ryan Cochran-Siegle, the 2022 Olympic silver medalist in super-G and a veteran of 17 races on the Stelvio. It’s a highly technical course with high speeds and big jumps, combining all the key elements that make for an exceptional downhill track. With the Winter Olympic Games 2026 just around the corner, the Stelvio will surely stand out as one of the toughest courses.
Since Stelvio’s debut in 1985, American speed skiers have consistently performed well in Bormio. Tommy Moe claimed a spot on the podium in the first Bormio World Cup in 1993, finishing third in the downhill. Just two years later, AJ Kitt secured a strong second-place finish in the downhill. Their successes highlight Stelvio’s appeal to skiers who thrive under pressure.
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Winter Olympic Milano Cortina 2026: Successes and Challenges on the Stelvio
By the early 2000s, Rahlves and Bode Miller had become regulars on the Bormio podium, with the two skiers joining for three wins. At the 2005 World Championships, they led the downhill, last in first and second place, singly. Oddly, just two days earlier, Miller had lost a ski near the top of the joint downhill but constant racing with just one ski. Miller also sued win in the super-G at the same World Finals.
Recently, Cochran-Siegle secured his first World Cup win on the Stelvio. This year, he was leading the downhill race when he crashed just before the course’s most crucial jump. Those who can handle the mental challenge of survival, while also generating power, finding speed, and pushing themselves to take risks are the ones who will finish on top, he says.
First, let’s examine the Stelvio’s steepness. Right from the start, the course drops at a 63º angle. At this incline, racers accelerate from zero to 60 mph faster than a Formula 1 car. Then, at the San Pietro jump, the course plunges at a 50º angle, similar to landing on a ski jump runout. With the Winter Olympic Milano Cortina 2026 on the horizon, this course will challenge Alpine Skiers like never before.
People watch us ski and think, I’m sure it’s just like skiing I-89 at Cochran’s, jokes Cochran-Siegle, referring to the relatively flat race trail at his family’s ski area in Vermont. In reality, the Stelvio drops 3,356.3 vertical feet 1,023 meters from top to bottom over 500 feet more than the average Olympic men’s Alpine Skiing course from the past 50 years.
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Milano Cortina 2026: A Course That Pushes Alpine Skiers to the Edge
Then there’s the terrain itself. The course’s bumps and jumps have taken down some of the world’s top skiers, including Sarrazin this year and Marco Schwarz last year. One particularly challenging section, a tough traverse called the Carcentina, leads into a turn that’s considered one of the most crucial on the course. You need to carry speed out of that turn, says Lewis.
This turn sets up the San Pietro jump, where racers dive into space, according to the course map. Forty-plus meters is a long way to drop through the air at 80 miles an hour, Lewis points out. Add to that the Stelvio’s length is 2.14 miles, making it the second-longest classic downhill on the men’s World Cup circuit and it’s clear that the course is a true beast.
It’s even longer than most Olympic downhills. Over the past 50 years, men’s Olympic downhill courses have averaged 1.93 miles in length. While an extra two-tenths of a mile might not seem like much, it feels like an eternity when you’re pushing your legs and lungs to the limit. As the Milano Cortina 2026 approaches, the Stelvio’s challenging length will undoubtedly make it one of the toughest courses.
Unlike some other downhills, the Stelvio offers no break. Even the Streif at Kitzbühel, known for its Hahnenkamm race, has a flatter section where racers get about 20 seconds to catch their breath. It’s like a multiplier, explains Lewis. The Stelvio is already tough and dark, but add to that the fact that you’re completely drained of energy, and it becomes even more grueling.
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