Alpine Worlds 2019: All you need to know

Two cities will host the 2019 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships, with Kranjska Gora in Slovenia staging the technical events while the speed events are held in Sella Nevea, Italy.

Here is what you need to know about the World Championships hosts ahead of the competition.

What is the Kranjska Gora venue like?

The Slovenian ski resort will kick off the 2019 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships with the giant slalom and slalom competitions.

Located in the Julian Alps near the borders between Slovenia, Austria and Italy, Kranjska Gora is a frequent host to international skiing competitions, including the Vitranc Cup of the Alpine Skiing World Cup, Ski Jumping World Cup and Cross Country World Cup Planica.

It has hosted Para Alpine competitions since 2016, including three World Cups and one Europa Cup, and will host another Para Alpine Skiing World Cup two days after the World Championships are completed.

The 18 ski slopes that stretch from Kranjska Gora to Planica range in altitude from 800 to 1,215m above sea level and are connected by six chair lifts and 13 drag lifts.

What is the Sella Nevea venue like?

Sella Nevea will host the speed events of the World Championships, starting with downhill, and continuing with super combined and super G races.

Located 37 kilometres northwest of Kranjska Gora, Sella Nevea is dubbed the “glacier” of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. Thanks to its high altitudes, the resort has one of the longest seasons with skiing often continuing into the first days of May.

Sella Nevea has been home to the FIS Training Centre for more than a decade and annually welcomes the world’s best alpine skiers who perfect their form on its slopes. The ski resort has also hosted both able-bodied and Para alpine skiing competitions, including World Cups, Europa Cups and FIS events.

Its 17 slopes range in altitude from 1,103m to 2,133m above sea level and stretch over 15km.

How many athletes are expected for the 2019 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships?

The competition will feature 98 athletes from 30 countries competing in sitting, standing and vision impaired races.

How many days of competition?

The races in Kranjska Gora will be held from 21 to 24 January, with Sella Nevea taking over from 29 January to 1 February.

Who will be the biggest names competing?

The women’s competition will feature sport heavyweights Marie Bochet of France, Slovakia’s Henrieta Farkasova, and Germany’s Anna Schaffelhuber.

Bochet is an eight-time Paralympic champion and 14-time world champion in the standing category, while Farkasova has nine Paralympic and 12 world titles in the vision impaired races.

The Slovakian has won gold in every event she entered except one at both the 2018 Paralympic Games and the 2017 World Championships.

Germany’s Schaffelhuber has seven gold medals at the Paralympic Games and nine world titles in the sitting class.

On the men’s side, the competition will feature five-time Paralympic champion and double world champion Jakub Krako of Slovakia in the vision impaired category and double Paralympic and world champion Markus Salcher of Austria in the standing races.

The Netherlands’ rising star Jeroen Kampschreur, who blasted onto the world circuit in the last two years with a Paralympic gold and three world titles, will try to add even more credits to his name in the sitting events.

Who organises the event?

World Para Alpine Skiing is organising the bi-annual event, along with the snow resorts and Local Organising Committees of Kranjska Gora and Sella Nevea.

When were the last World Championships?

The 2017 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships were held in Tarvisio, Italy from 22-31 January. Germany topped the medals table with 14 medals overall, including five golds, while France and Canada rounded off the top three.

Anything else I should know?

Visit the official 2019 World Para Alpine Skiing World Championships website for more information.