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Writer's pictureRaúl Revuelta

Wengen Lauberhorn Ski Races Preview (Cancelled)



Wengen (1274 m) is a car-free mountain village located on a sheltered, sun-soaked terrace, 400 meters above the picturesque Lauterbrunnen Valley. The fantastic surrounding scenery is dominated by the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau massif. The holiday destination of Wengen is situated in the heart of the Bernese Oberland, 18 kilometers from Interlaken, the Lakes of Thun and Brienz, and close to the UNESCO World Heritage Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn.

Grindelwald-First, Grindelwald-Wengen, and Mürren-Schilthorn make up the large Jungfrau Ski Region ski area, plus the Meiringen-Hasliberg ski area. In these four ski areas, you can enjoy more than 265 kilometers of pistes up to 2,970 meters.



The 91st International Lauberhorn Races will take place next weekend in Wengen, Switzerland.

As part of the Men's Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, this is taking place from January 15th to 17th with three events, two Downhills, and one Slalom race. The International Lauberhorn races are part of the Club 5+ Alpine Classics, a union of the leading alpine ski race organizers from all over the world. It was founded in 1988 upon an idea of world cup founder and sports journalist Serge Lang. Charter members had been the "Five" Downhill classic sites in the Alps: Gardena/Gröden (ITA), Garmisch (GER), Kitzbühel (AUT), Wengen (SUI), Val d’Isere (FRA). The 1st International Lauberhorn Race Wengen took place in 1930. On November 28, 1929, along with the co-founders of the Swiss Academic Ski Club (SAS) in Berne Ernst Gertsch signed the founding document of the Lauberhorn Race. After the pioneering years (from 1924), with this race, the wonderful story of Alpine ski racing really began to unfold. A story that is marked, to a large extent, by Arnold Lunn and Ernst Gertsch who guided it through many perils. It was a long, difficult, and often bumpy road.



Wengen Program


Downhill. Friday, January 15th. 12:30 (CET)

Downhill. Saturday, January 16th, 12:30 (CET)

Slalom. Sunday, January 17th, 1st run 10:15, 2nd run 13:15 (CET)


The Lauberhorn Downhill is the longest race in the FIS Ski World Cup circus. In order to win the Lauberhorn Race, the skiers not only need a lot of courage and be prepared to take risks, but also perfect technique and stamina.


Downhill Racecourse facts:

  • Start Elevation: 2315m

  • Finish Elevation: 1,287 m

  • Vertical Drop: 1028 m

  • Distance: 4480m




Last season Beat Feuz claimed Wengen’s Downhill for the third time. The Swiss speed skier mastered a shortened Lauberhorn Downhill once again. His third win in Wengen follows his previous victories in 2012 and 2018.

The local hero skied to the limit without committing any mistakes and was rewarded with the lead position in front of Dominik Paris.

Thomas Dressen narrowly missed second place by 0.02. It was his first top 3 finish of his career in Wengen.




Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr played the role of the spoiler in the 2019 Downhill race in Wengen (SUI), edging Swiss hero Beat Feuz by a mere 0.14 seconds to claim his first Downhill victory of the 2018-2019 Audi FIS World Cup season. Third place went to Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.




Clement Noel wins an amazing slalom race in Wengen last season, the same place where he achieved his first World Cup victory the season before. Henrik Kristoffersen was second (+ 0.40) and Alexander Khoroshilov third (+ 0.83).

Clement Noel won the race in the first run, where he clocked the fastest time, 0.67s faster than anyone else. During the second run, he fought off the attack of Henrik Kristoffersen.

Clement Noel made his debut in the World Cup in Levi in 2016. One month later he finished in the Top 20 in Val d'Isere and complete his way up to the Top 10 in Kitzbühel. Finally, in 2019 at the age of 21, he won the first World Cup Race in Wengen.



In 2019, Clement Noel, after earning his first career podium, taking second place in last week’s Adelboden slalom, followed up with his first career victory in the Wengen slalom, relegating the Austrian duo of Manuel Feller and Marcel Hirscher to the lower steps on the podium.



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