Crans-Montana, a love story with competitive skiing

At the turn of the 20th century, Crans and Montana were still two small hamlets perched above Sierre, a plateau of alpine pastures where cattle grazed during the summer months. Everything changed in 1911, when the funicular linking the plain to the mountains was inaugurated. It was a pivotal year, as it also marked the moment when the Englishman Arnold Lunn organized the first downhill race in history on the slopes of the Haut-Plateau.

In just a few decades, the sport grew rapidly with the construction of the first residences, hotels leading the way, and above all the creation of the first ski clubs, which organized competitions on the Plaine-Morte glacier. These events attracted numerous alpine skiing pioneers who delighted in racing down the slopes on their wooden boards. The Mont Lachaux Trophy was created in 1944, soon becoming a prestigious prize coveted for nearly twenty years.

The first steps of the World Cup

The 1960s and 1970s marked a turning point. Crans and Montana merged to form a single resort. The slopes of Cry d’Er, Bella Lui, and Aminona became favorite playgrounds for Swiss and foreign skiers alike. Naturally, driven by local actors full of ambition, the resort organized its first World Cup races in 1977, only ten years after the creation of the new circuit.

It was on January 25 that the first downhill of the White Circus champions took place on the Haut-Plateau, with Austrian Brigitte Totschnig claiming victory. One of the first stars to shine on the slopes of Crans-Montana was St. Gallen’s Marie-Therese Nadig, who won the combined in 1977 and the downhill in 1981. These early races laid the foundations of a great adventure and fueled the resort’s successful bid to host the World Championships.

Championships engraved in memory

In February 1986, Crans-Montana staged a dress rehearsal one year before the global celebration, with five races on the program and an atmosphere of eager anticipation. Peter Müller, already comfortable on the Nationale, achieved a double victory in super-G and combined. One year later, he did it again, this time winning the World Championship downhill at the end of a legendary race that saw a Swiss triple podium ahead of Pirmin Zurbriggen and Karl Alpiger.

The year 1987 remains engraved in collective memory. The World Championships transformed Crans-Montana into the capital of skiing. In front of tens of thousands of ecstatic spectators, Swiss skiing experienced one of the finest chapters in its history: 14 medals, including 8 world titles. Switzerland had never dominated a global event to such an extent. Nearly forty years later, that record still stands, though the recent Saalbach harvest, with its thirteen medals, came very close.

From silence to the exploits of Lindsey Vonn and Didier Cuche

Euphoria was followed by a long lull. It took until 1992 for the White Circus to return to the Haut-Plateau, and 1998 to host the World Cup Finals. Those finals marked the end of an era when Alberto Tomba bid farewell to racing. Symbolically, “La Bomba” won the slalom for his 50th and final career victory, the perfect conclusion to a mythical journey.

Then came a long silence. Ten years without a World Cup. Until its return in 2008, driven by Marius Robyr and his team. Crans-Montana regained its place on the calendar, first every two years, then more regularly. Lindsey Vonn, the sport’s iconic figure, claimed the first victory of this new era, before winning again two years later.

In 2012, it was the men’s turn to return to the Nationale after a fourteen-year absence. The Valais crowd gathered to cheer on Didier Cuche during his farewell tour. The Neuchâtel native stood on the podium twice and earned one final prestigious win in super-G, at over 37 years old, becoming the oldest winner in World Cup history. A record that still stands today.

A classic on the Haut-Plateau

Since 2016, Crans-Montana has established itself as a key stop on the women’s circuit, a true classic on the calendar. The Mont Lachaux course, both demanding and spectacular, has become the stage for memorable triumphs by some of the greatest champions in the sport, including Mikaela Shiffrin, Lara Gut-Behrami, Sofia Goggia, and Federica Brignone.

Under the leadership of a new organizing team, the men returned to the Haut-Plateau in 2025. Thirteen years after their last appearance, the world’s top speed specialists once again raced down the legendary Nationale. The Swiss athletes, fresh from their brilliant World Championships in Saalbach, lived up to expectations. In front of an electrified crowd, Franjo von Allmen, Marco Odermatt, and Alexis Monney made history by claiming a magnificent Swiss triple in the downhill, the first in over thirty years. The following day, Odermatt and Monney dominated the super-G in a finish area that had become a true cauldron.

These feats herald more to come at the great ski festival soon to be hosted by Crans-Montana. In 2027, the Haut-Plateau resort will organize the World Championships for the second time, forty years after the legendary 1987 edition, with the ambition to carry forward a skiing legacy more than a century old.