Slopes pampered all year round - The players behind the success with "Bibbo"
The 2026 Audi FIS Ski World Cup races and the 2027 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships are already being prepared on the ground during summer. Renzo “Bibbo” Mazzuchelli is Head of men's races in the winter, and in charge of the works and inspections on the Nationale and Mont Lachaux slopes during summer, long before the first snowfalls. Let’s meet him.
“I need to go to Les Violettes to check if they’ve properly cut the trees at the bottom of the Nationale.” Under the blazing summer sun of the Haut-Plateau in the early evening, Renzo Mazzuchelli doesn’t stop. After a long day bustling around the greens of Crans-Montana for the Omega European Masters golf tournament, the man everyone calls Bibbo heads off to inspect the work being carried out on the slopes that will host the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships in eighteen months’ time.
Head of men’s races on the Nationale slope during winter, the native of Ticino is also responsible for the summer works. Contrary to popular belief, there’s a huge amount of work to be done beforehand, especially between July and October. “During the winter, we analyze the improvements that need to be made in summer, taking into account feedback from the FIS in particular.”
Listening to the FIS and television
And there’s no shortage of work on the Nationale and Mont Lachaux slopes. “First, it’s about checking all the existing equipment — poles, safety nets, and so on. Then, together with the FIS and Host Broadcast, we walk the slopes several times to analyze the changes needed for things like snow cannons or cameras,” explains Bibbo. “These are strategic elements. Even a single change in a camera’s position means pulling fiber optic cables and digging trenches.”
The Lugano native, who arrived on the Haut-Plateau 27 years ago to give ski lessons and never left, enjoys his role. “I like working as part of a team, brainstorming together to find solutions, and above all, I enjoy working for big events — there are always countless details to take care of.” In the heart of winter, he doesn’t shy away from 15- to 16-hour days. “It’s intense but concentrated over just a few weeks. For me, it’s a real challenge that motivates me, because here we’re not organizing a little ski-club race,” he laughs, his melodic accent still intact, he who also once coached skiers like Daniel Yule with Ski-Valais.
Restoring the Nationale slope’s former glory
The former carpenter, who has been part of the Crans-Montana World Cup race organization for eight years, took on his new role as head of men’s races on the Nationale slope just a few months before the men’s White Circus returned to the Valaisan resort last winter. “There hadn’t been a race on that slope for 13 years. We had to do a massive clean-up job. Trees had grown, we had to reinstall nearly three kilometers of new A-nets, and add more snow cannons.”
The reunion with the men’s circuit was a success, despite some criticism of the legendary slope’s difficulty, which had already hosted the World Championships in 1987. “After so long without competition, the main goal was simply to get the athletes to the finish line.” But Renzo Mazzuchelli promises that the next men’s downhill, scheduled for February 1st, 2026, will be spectacular both for the spectators and for Marco Odermatt and his fellow racers. “We’re going to add two or three really interesting jumps and accentuate some of the bumps.”
To achieve this, once the cows come down from the alpine pastures, the entire slope is mown. “That way the snow will be more stable and compact, and will last more easily. Preparing a World Cup slope isn’t just the work of snow groomers.” It’s an annual mission where every detail counts, so that the Nationale remains worthy of its prestige.