Olympic venue Rosa Khutor prepares for return of the World Cup

Rosa Khutor Mountain Resort, host of the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games Alpine Skiing events, will once again invite the fastest female skiers around the globe to compete on its speed track in March of 2019. However, the lower portion of the downhill slope required some hard work and adjustments after mudslides altered the terrain following the Olympic competitions previously held there.

FIS Ladies' Chief Race Director Atle Skaardal completed an official inspection of the resort earlier this week, and he was highly impressed by the efforts to prepare for the upcoming World Cup races this season.

Representatives from Rosa Khutor Resort and the Russian Alpine Skiing Federation joined Skaardal on the inspection during which special attention was paid to the lower section adjustment of the women's downhill course and organizational issues of the finish zone and spectator area. The organisers then held a coordination meeting in the afternoon following the inspection.

Skaardal noted the commitment of the resort and organisers to overcoming some significant obstacles in order to ready the track for this season's races.

"I am fully satisfied with the results of the work carried out on the lower section of the course, both with profiling the new part of the course and safety installations," Skaardal said. "I would like to thank the Rosa Khutor Resort and the Local Organising Committee for the work done in preparing for the event. We are all looking forward to the return of the World Cup to the Olympic resort in the upcoming season."

The ladies' Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup (referred to as "Rosa Ski Dream") will take place on 2 March (downhill) and 3 March (super-G) 2019.