Italy has been scrambling to ensure that all the events of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Games can be held on its territory, even going against the IOC's advice on the Cortina sliding track construction site. French Alps 2030, on the other hand, want to be more pragmatic. In an interview with Figaro, Renaud Muselier, the president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, thus noted that speed skating will take place in a foreign country. “It’s too expensive, about 50 millionhe justifies. We will find a solution and Edgar (Grospiron) will leave in Holland and Italy to see what we can do with them."
The Netherlands are the benchmark nation for speed skating, as evidenced by their 12 medals (including 6 gold) at Beijing 2022 and their 16 podium finishes at the Pyeongchang 2018 Games. They recently hosted the World Championships in Heerenveen (2014) and Amsterdam (2018). Italy will have the advantage of the fresh experience of the 2026 Winter Games, but the organization has only planned a temporary facility for the speed skating events in Milan.
