What do the Italians play? A few weeks before celebrating the symbolic date of two years before the opening of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games (February 6 to 22), they continue to turn their backs on the IOC and its will, expressed many times during in recent months, to see the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton events take place on an already existing track in working order.
The maneuver is not the work of the organizing committee, rather inclined to wisely listen to the voice of Lausanne and look abroad, Switzerland or Austria. It is led by the government of Giorgia Meloni, to whom the idea of outsourcing part of the Olympic events to a neighboring country seems to give rise to pimples.
The Italian Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini, also in charge of Transport, repeated it once again at the end of last week: the sliding track must remain in Italy. In the country. At home.
For this, an option came out of the drawer which had been buried for reasons of timing, cost and even, more surprisingly, lack of response to a call for tenders: the renovation of the historic Eugenio-Monti track in Cortina d'Ampezzo.
« The Milan-Cortina Olympics must be the Italian Olympics, the bobsled track must be in Cortina, hammered Matteo Salvini during a trip to Milan. We are working on this option at the ministry, without spending another euro or wasting any more time ».
How ? Mystery. But the Italian leader released some details of the schedule of a soap opera whose final episode remains as uncertain as ever, despite the pressure exerted by the IOC for a rapid solution. “ From Monday (December 18), we will meet local entities and see the realities of the territory, explained Matteo Salvini. The goal is to do well and quickly, because these 2026 Winter Games are an incredible opportunity in terms of development and image, not only for Lombardy and Veneto, but also for all of Italy. ».
Still according to the Italian minister, the technical file on which a team of engineers is currently working would make it possible to renovate the Cortina track, built for the Winter Games in 1948 but now abandoned, without risk of delivery out of time. “ The engineers told me that we still have enough time to build this track, they are working on it “, he assured the media.
Credible? Hard to believe. But a definitive answer should not be long in coming. The Italian organizers have promised the IOC to announce the name of the site no later than January 30, 2024.
Another Italian option had been mentioned, the Cesana track, in Piedmont, built for the Turin 2006 Winter Games. Its renovation would be faster, and above all less expensive, than that of Cortina d'Ampezzo. But the obstacle would be political, the Lombard and Venetian elected officials no longer wanting to hear about it.
