After last week’s Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup, the weekend now features luge with the official International Luge Federation test event.
Cortina d’Ampezzo (Belluno), 29 November 2025 – Another high-intensity weekend is underway on the newly renovated “Eugenio Monti” track in Cortina d’Ampezzo. After hosting the Skeleton and Bobsleigh World Cup competitions from 21 to 23 November, the Cortina Sliding Centre is now welcoming the world’s best luge athletes. In recent days, international training sessions took place; over the weekend, two full competition days will serve as a true test event in preparation for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
On Saturday, 29 November, the programme curated by the International Luge Federation features men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and women’s singles, while tomorrow the men’s singles and the team relay competitions will be held.
Twenty-five nations are represented: Australia, United States, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Japan, Latvia, China, Ireland, Georgia, Finland, Estonia, Great Britain, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Germany, Switzerland, Argentina, Poland, Austria, Sweden, South Korea, Canada, Italy, and Ukraine.
“Many didn’t believe in it, but we are winning all the bets that were made on the Sliding Centre: last week’s Skeleton and Bobsleigh World Cup races proved it, and these luge test events confirm it once again,” said the Mayor of Cortina d’Ampezzo, Gianluca Lorenzi. “The renovated track, dedicated to Eugenio Monti, is reclaiming the central role it held for decades on the international stage of these disciplines, and it will do so increasingly in the future. The Olympic event is already becoming a reality in Ampezzo and is bringing remarkable added value that will benefit not only the future of Cortina but also the surrounding areas.”
FIL President Einars Fogelis: “Today’s and tomorrow’s test event marks an important milestone on the road to Milano Cortina 2026. For the first time, our athletes are experiencing the newly renovated Cortina Sliding Centre under full racing conditions — and their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The track delivers exactly what modern luge needs: sport-specific challenges, technical precision, and above all, a safe and fair environment for all competitors.
I want to thank our partners in Italy — SiMiCo, Fondazione Cortina, the Millano Cortina 2026 organizing committee, and the many dedicated people on site — for their hard work and professionalism. What we are witnessing here is the result of true collaboration. The Sliding Centre has already proven its capability in bobsleigh, skeleton, and now luge. We are confident that Cortina will host exceptional Olympic competitions in 2026, reflecting the spirit and excellence of our sport.”
“We have overcome all criticism by building a track admired by athletes and teams from all over the world. We achieved this by working as a team, as sport teaches us, and by completing, in just 300 days, the most beautiful track in the world,” said Government Commissioner and SIMICO CEO Fabio Saldini. “It is a victory for Italy, a success for a country that does not stop in front of the impossible but instead gives its best when facing major challenges. I am personally proud, enthusiastic, and at times moved by the result achieved — a result I share with the few who believed in it from the start, and above all with my team, who never stopped working to make what we see today a reality. I am proud that the international federations, through the homologation, have certified the beauty, innovation, and spectacular nature of our Sliding Centre. The world is ready to see it in action at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics.”
“FISI has always supported the importance of the new Eugenio Monti track,” said FISI President Flavio Roda, “both for the Italian National Teams, who can finally count on a domestic facility where they can train with significantly lower costs, and for expanding the base of athletes practicing these three sports. We have seen strong interest around our teams during these training and competition days in Cortina, and this is a very positive sign for the future.”
“It is a point of pride for us to collaborate with the International Luge Federation for these test events, just as we did in recent weeks with the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation,” noted Stefano Longo, President of Fondazione Cortina. “The success the Sliding Centre is receiving among athletes and technicians is highly meaningful: it reconnects the threads of history while projecting us into the future. The Sliding Centre and the professionals working within it are — and increasingly will be — a fundamental strength in making Cortina an international hub for sport. The renovated structure will not only be a reference point for competitive events but also a key training venue for Italian athletes and many from abroad”