Austria as a replacement?

Olympic trouble: ski jumps in Predazzo not on schedule

No Olympic dress rehearsal for Tour winner Daniel Tschofenig.(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

Preparations for the 2026 Winter Olympics are going anything but smoothly. If the new ice track in Cortina d'Ampezzo is not completed, the US city of Lake Placid will be the venue. Now the schedule for the new construction of the two ski jumps in Predazzo is also said to be shaky.

No Ski Jumping World Cup, no Nordic Combined World Cup! In Predazzo, the Olympic dress rehearsals planned for the second weekend in January had to be canceled. The newly crowned Tour winner Daniel Tschofenig can look forward to a free weekend.

However, this is not the first time that there have been no World Cup competitions as test competitions in the run-up to the Games. In January 1991, the dress rehearsal in Courchevel for Albertville 1992 was canceled due to a lack of snow, and Beijing 2022 canceled almost all test competitions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

I am optimistic. The construction progress is visible to the naked eye.

FIS-Renndirektor Sandro Pertile

The reason for this is that the new ski jumps could not be completed on time. Work is currently underway in Predazzo to get the two bakken ready for the 2026 Olympics. "I am optimistic. The construction progress is visible to the naked eye," said FIS Race Director Sandro Pertile at an international press event as part of the Four Hills Tournament. A summer GP is planned for next September as an Olympic test.

FIS Race Director Sandro Pertile hopes for an Olympic test in September.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

Costs explode
The Italian Olympic organizers, on the other hand, are in dire straits. The originally announced costs of 8.7 million euros for the conversion of the Predazzo facility have now risen to 41 million euros.

Behind the scenes, the worries are probably even greater. In a report, the Finnish portal Iltalehti.fi doubts that the two ski jumps will be ready in time for the Games in February 2026. An anonymous expert even brings Austria (Innsbruck, Seefeld) into play as a possible replacement.

Plan B in the World Ski Federation
The International Ski Federation is also preparing for possible construction delays. If the ski jumps in Val di Fiemme are not ready for the summer GP in September, an Olympic dress rehearsal is to take place shortly before Christmas with the Italian championships. In this case, these title competitions would be open to all nations.