Crans-Montana A Double Dress Rehearsal For World Champs

One year before the 2027 Crans-Montana Alpine Ski World Championships, the world's best speed athletes will meet again on the high plateau for the first time in 28 years. The World Cup races will be dedicated both to the sport and to commemorating the tragic events of New Year's Eve.

Ten years after the home World Championships in St. Moritz, the Ski World Championships will return to Switzerland. From February 1st to 14th, 2027, Crans-Montana will be the stage for the world's best athletes

An important milestone on the road to the World Championships are the World Cup races next weekend, which are intended to serve as a crucial test run for the Ski World Championships.

Program

• Friday, January 30, 2026 | Women's Downhill | 10:00 AM
• Saturday, January 31, 2026 | Women's Super-G | 11:00 AM
• Sunday, February 1, 2026 | Men's Downhill | 11:00 AM

From January 30 to February 1, Crans-Montana will host a combined women's and men's World Cup for the first time since the 1998 World Cup Finals. The races offer a preview of the World Championships the following year. On the legendary Mont Lachaux slope, the women will take center stage on Friday and Saturday with a downhill and a Super-G, before the men compete in their downhill race on the Piste Nationale on Sunday. These are the last World Cup races before the Winter Olympics – Crans-Montana 2026 is therefore a kind of double dress rehearsal.

Crans-Montana is inextricably linked to the legendary 1987 World Championships. Back then, Switzerland celebrated a historic triumph: eight out of ten gold medals went to the home team, including an unprecedented quadruple victory in the men's downhill However, in the two most recent World Cup events, the Swiss athletes confirmed their dominance in Crans-Montana with strong performances, including a triple victory and two double victories.

Last year's winners, Marco Odermatt (Super-G), the current leader in the overall World Cup standings, and Franjo von Allmen (Downhill), are among the top favorites again this year. Alexis Monney completed the Swiss sweep in the Downhill last year, finishing third behind Von Allmen and Odermatt. In the Super-G, Monney also finished second behind Odermatt, securing a Swiss one-two finish. The Swiss men are clearly enjoying themselves in Crans-Montana and will compete in Sunday's Downhill with high ambitions.

At the last Women's World Cup in Crans-Montana in 2024, Lara Gut-Behrami, who is sidelined this year due to injury, dominated with a victory and a third-place finish in the two downhill races. Jasmine Flury secured another Swiss one-two finish in the downhill, confirming the strong position of the Swiss women on this traditional terrain. The women will compete in a downhill race in Crans Montana on Friday, followed by a Super-G on Saturday.

Following the tragic events of January 1, 2026, the organizing committee of the Crans-Montana Ski World Cup has decided to focus this year's event on the sporting competitions.

As a result, all activities in the Ycoor Fan Zone have been cancelled, including the official ceremonies and all daytime activities planned in the village center. The 2026 World Cup will be limited to the races and the spectator areas along the slopes and around the finish stadium. A low-key program of events will be held, including moments and gestures of silence and remembrance.