VIDEO | “Underground and non-polluting”, this is what the bobsleigh track in Cortina will be like
After much controversy, the mayor of Cortina tells in a video what the new bobsleigh and luge track being built for the Winter Olympics will look like. And he bounces off criticism: "It will be the flagship"
VENICE – A route almost entirely underground and covered by vegetation, not as impactful as has been said. And indeed, the refrigeration mechanism is not polluting (because it is glycol-based) and this makes it a unique excellence in the world: the mayor of Cortina d’Ampezzo, Gianluca Lorenzi, defends the track from bob which (amid controversy) will be built in Cortina for the next Winter Olympics and decides to explain it to all its citizens in a video published on YouTube and on social media. It is only the first of a series of videos, the Municipality says, with which the mayor will keep a direct line with citizens to inform them of the progress of the works.
“NOTHING IS LEFT TO CHANCE”
“We are not naive.” For the new bobsleigh track in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the sliding center of the 2026 Winter Olympics, work is underway without leaving “nothing to chance”; we work “hard to ensure that there are all the answers” necessary to make the new system work; to ensure that “there are, as far as possible, certainties”. Mayor Gianluca Lorenzi assures this in a video in which he talks about the sliding center under construction. “It will be a flagship and we will be proud to have it“: and when it is in operation, and it will be seen that it is ‘sustainable’, continues the mayor, “perhaps we will spend ourselves in a more proactive way while today there is only controversy. It will be an excellence and will give us a lot of satisfaction.” There is the intention to give “even better news” in the near future. But since so far “everything has been heard and everyone has given their opinion”, Lorenzi posts the video because the bobsleigh track needs to be talked about “with concrete data strong>”.
And first of all he assures that “the project has its own sustainability” and the “guarantee” that it will work “in the years even after the Olympics” is being built. It will be a “unique excellence in the world” given that the refrigeration system will be almost entirely glycol-based and therefore “non-polluting” (only the power plant will run on ammonia); the route of the track will be “mostly underground and covered by vegetation”. The track “won’t be as impactful as you might think”. In short, Lorenzi dismantles the various objections raised to the opportunity of building a new track, discarding the possibility of diverting the races outside Italy. Lorenzi also talks about the work for an agreement with the Region, Provinces (Belluno, Trento and Bolzano), the Cortina Foundation and sports federations on a “management and valorisation programme” which will bring World Cup and World Cup competitions to the shadow of the Tofane and ” international events”.
THE TAXI BOB WINTER AND SUMMER IS ALSO COMING
Bringing the bobsled races back to Cortina, but also the skeleton and luge races, will be “a gratification for everyone“, reviving the ‘myth’ of the historic Monti track. Work is also being done to get the Swiss, Austrian and German sports federations to bring their athletes to train in Cortina. And for those who are not athletes there will be the winter and summer taxi bob, creating “a new tourist product” that will enhance Cortina given that “there are not many mountain resorts that can do it. Another flower all ‘buttonhole for us”.
THE CITIZENS WILL BE UPDATED STEP-BY-STEP OF THE WORK
The management of the runway was and is “certainly a concern that we had as an administration and therefore also of the citizens, but we are putting a legacy plan in place”, assures Lorenzi, to ensure that the proceeds of the urban transformation investments of the Government on various areas of Cortina bring the necessary funds to manage the bobsleigh track. Lorenzi’s video – on the social pages of the Municipality of Cortina (facebook, instagram and Youtube) at this link– it is the first of a series that the mayor intends to post to inform citizens of the work progress of the 2026 Olympics and of all the construction sites underway, which will open and which are closing. “The Municipality intends to open a communication channel dedicated to responding to the most relevant questions regarding the works in Cortina. In addition to the videos, press conferences and meetings with citizens are planned to show the current and future status of the projects, illustrating the Legacy of the Olympics Milano Cortina 2026, which will make our city increasingly attractive for tourism and beyond”, informs the administration.