Sarrazin, Pinturault and the Blues slide into the realm of speed!

Welcome to Copper Mountain! “The place to be” for speed. Before heading to Beaver Creek for the opening of the downhill and super-G season (with a giant too), at the beginning of December (from 6 to 8), most of the protagonists will make a nice stopover near “Copper” , as everyone calls the Colorado station. Renowned for regularly hosting the freestyle ski World Cup, with its pipe visible from Route 70, the American resort has become a renowned spot for alpine skiing. Alexis Pinturault, who will be making his return to the competition, has been there since November 15 like the French go-getters while Cyprien Sarrazin and the speed group have just arrived on site at the start of the week.

The U.S. women’s team, led by Lindsey Vonn, currently trains there. This is also the case for Sofia Goggia, on her return after the broken leg she suffered at the end of last winter. Sun, snow and cold welcomed them.

Clara Direz on site, the Blues of Speed ​​are arriving

Before the opening of their speed season, also in Beaver Creek (December 14-15), the Bleues de la vite will also take up their US headquarters at Copper Mountain from November 24. Giantist Clara Direz is already training on site to prepare for Killington (November 30 and December 1). On the track in Gurgl this Saturday, the slalom racers (some of whom are also giants) will cross the Atlantic on November 27 to go directly to Killington.

“It’s really great”

“We’ve been going there for six years now,” explains Xavier Fournier-Bidoz, head of the speed group. It’s really great. We are 1h30 from Denver. There is a track dedicated to speed. It’s wide, with safety nets everywhere. At the start, there is a flat, then a jump, again a flat before a big part of speed and you end with a big wall. We can do runs of 1’45” downhill. The departure is at 3700 m (altitude). It hits a little (sic). There is also, next to it, a track for the giant. It’s quite practical, we stay in apartments and we cook for ourselves. » To train, four 2.5 hour slots are available, from 6.30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and managed by the American federation. The French staff made reservations on a schedule last June! “There are 25-30 people per session,” explains Xavier Fournier-Bidoz. Rotating with a chairlift is quick and easy. »

“Cinema snow”

Like everywhere in the American West, we find “cinema snow”, “catchy and hyper aggressive”. Ideal for “8-9” days of skiing on the program (depending on conditions) with 4-5 rounds per day, without overdoing it at such altitude. “We have to be careful because we are still getting close to the races,” warns the coach, who will head off with all his troops to the neighboring Beaver Creek station, from the beginning of December for the first training sessions on the Birds of Prey, the perfect setting for launching speed season.

The famous “cinema snow”

Towards a World Cup at Copper Mountain

A recognized training spot, Copper Mountain should soon host a World Cup stage. In the forecasts (draft) of the International Ski Federation (FIS), from the last autumn meetings in Zurich, the US resort would make its entry into the men’s calendar with two super-Gs at the end of November 2025.

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