Ramsau upgrades ski jump to help retain World Cup

The ski jumping hill in Ramsau has a new in-run track, a step the Upper Styrian venue hopes will strengthen its position as Austria’s Nordic centre and help keep a World Cup event in the region, ORF reported.

Work to renew the track on the normal hill took four weeks. Ramsau undertook the upgrade as a commitment to Nordic combined, after the International Olympic Committee decided in July to remove the sport from the Olympic programme.

Franz Josef Rehl, a Nordic combined athlete from Schladming who uses the hill, welcomed the modernisation. He said it was important to support the sport’s future and ensure children learning to ski jump on smaller hills could continue doing so in the years ahead. A project to improve the landing area could follow next year, he said.

The new in-run is also more energy-efficient: icing it uses 60 to 70 percent less electricity than before, according to track builder Peter Riedel. He said the upgrade had improved speed, acceleration and overall quality.

Ramsau Mayor Hannes Uttinger said a further step could be increasing the hill size from 98 metres to at least 106 metres, which would require changes to the landing area. A Nordic World Championships in Upper Styria is not currently planned, he said, but could not be ruled out in the future.

The World Cup is scheduled to take place in Ramsau on December 18 and 19. The venue hosted the Nordic World Ski Championships in 1999.