Sestriere announces bid for 2029 Alpine skiing worlds

SESTRIERE, Italy (AP) — Sestriere has announced its candidacy for the 2029 Alpine skiing world championships in a bid to bring a major event back to the Italian slopes of the 2006 Turin Olympics.

Sestriere already hosted the worlds in 1997.

“The Italian Winter Sports Federation expresses the utmost support for a candidacy which, if accepted, would enable our nation to maintain a leading role in the most important winter sports events in recent years after the 2021 Cortina world championships and the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics,” federation president Flavio Roda said Saturday following a World Cup ski race at the resort.

The Piedmont region that includes Sestriere was originally part of Italy’s bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics but then was cut out amid political squabbling.

“Hosting an event of this magnitude would have a significant economic and media impact, allowing the Piedmont resort to once again breathe the excitement of the great event, following the perfect success of the 2006 Olympics which are still alive in the memories of Italian and other fans,” Roda said. “It should only be a matter of agreeing with the other nations which is the most suitable year, based on the International Ski Federation’s (FIS) considerations for major events.”

Sestriere will be the finish site for the penultimate and likely decisive stage of this year’s Giro d’Italia cycling race on May 30.

After next year’s ski worlds in Cortina d’Ampezzo and the 2023 event at the French resorts of Courchevel and Méribel, FIS still has to assign the 2025 and 2027 editions before getting to 2029.

Last year’s worlds were held in Åre , Sweden.