Slidensa
TracksCervinia

Ruin 1963–1991

Cervinia

Pista di bob del Lago Blu

Breuil-Cervinia, Valtournenche, Aosta Valley · Italy

Closed since 1991; its concrete curves still lie on the slope by Lago Blu.

No mapped line survives for this track yet.

Real track · Published figures

First raced
1963
Last raced
1991
Length
1,540 m
Drop
139 m
Curves
18

Figures from the 1974 course map; another account gives 1,520 m.

Explore the track

The Slidensa model, drawn over the real ground. Follow the run into every curve.

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In Slidensa

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Game model · Two-man bobsleigh reference run. These lengths, speeds and loads come from Slidensa’s physics and can differ from the real track’s published figures.

Length
1,563m
Drop
139m
Curves
18
Top speed
147km/h
Peak load
5.7g
Reference run
0:57.65
Curve-by-curve guide · 18 curves

The three curves in lime pull hardest in the reference run.

  1. 1 9° right Curve del Pio Merlo 1.0 g · 60 km/h
  2. 2 169° left Curva Cristallo 2.2 g · 72 km/h
  3. 3 7° right Curve Sottopassaggio 1.0 g · 82 km/h
  4. 4 26° left Curve Sottopassaggio 1.5 g · 88 km/h
  5. 5 5° left Curve Sottopassaggio 1.1 g · 90 km/h
  6. 6 16° right Curve Sottopassaggio 1.3 g · 91 km/h
  7. 7 5° right Piccolo Labirinto 1.1 g · 93 km/h
  8. 8 47° left Piccolo Labirinto 1.4 g · 102 km/h
  9. 9 189° right Piccolo Labirinto 3.0 g · 122 km/h
  10. 10 146° left Piccolo Labirinto 4.9 g · 128 km/h
  11. 11 3° left Curva Layet 1.3 g · 133 km/h
  12. 12 13° right Grande Labirinto 2.0 g · 135 km/h
  13. 13 3° right Grande Labirinto 1.4 g · 137 km/h
  14. 14 51° left Grande Labirinto 4.3 g · 137 km/h
  15. 15 52° right Curva Azzurra 3.3 g · 135 km/h
  16. 16 41° left Curva Bianca 2.8 g · 138 km/h
  17. 17 2° left Kink 1.3 g · 141 km/h
  18. 18 179° right Curva Arrivo 5.7 g · 145 km/h

The story

Fans inspired by Cortina's 1956 Olympics pushed for this natural-ice bob run at Breuil-Cervinia, which ran down the slope to Lago Blu below the Matterhorn. Engineer Luciano Galli designed it, and it raced from the 1962–63 winter. With no refrigeration, crews packed and watered snow at night to make the ice. It hosted the World Championships in 1971, 1975 and 1985 and four European Championships. In 1992 the region gave up the 1993 World Championships because modernising was too costly, and the track never reopened.

  • Bobs reached about 140 km/h, and some curves stood 6 to 7 m high.
  • A curve collapsed in the 1963–64 winter, and the track was officially inaugurated only in 1966, after rebuilding.
  • The 1987 European Championships moved here because environmental objections had blocked Cortina's ammonia refrigeration.

Today

The trough and concrete curve walls remain, partly visible in summer, and winter snowmobile tours follow part of the old line.

Course map of the Lago Blu bob run, with its named curves, published for the 1975 World Championships.
Course map of the Lago Blu bob run, with its named curves, published for the 1975 World Championships. Photo: Unknown author, Public domain.
A 1965 postcard of the Lago Blu bob run below the Matterhorn.
A 1965 postcard of the Lago Blu bob run below the Matterhorn. Photo: edizioni Capurso, Public domain.
A 1967 postcard of the bob runs at Breuil-Cervinia.
A 1967 postcard of the bob runs at Breuil-Cervinia. Photo: edizioni Capurso, Public domain.
A bob crew pushing off at Breuil-Cervinia in 1975.
A bob crew pushing off at Breuil-Cervinia in 1975. Photo: Unknown author, Public domain.

Racing history

Earliest and latest recorded race of each event at this level, from published results.

World Championships

Two-man bob 1971–1985
Four-man bob 1971–1985

Continental championships and cups

Two-man bob 1969–1991
Four-man bob 1969–1991