Winter Olympics 2022 - 'The fun factor is close to ten' - Alpine skiers finally try out Beijing downhill course

Updated 03/02/2022 at 09:47 GMT

"It’s a really great slope, they built up an incredible slope and it was fun to ski" - The world's top alpine skiers have finally had a taste of the Yanqing slope at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and they are impressed. The slope is yet to host a World Cup race or test event of any kind so international riders were getting their first feel for the run.

Justin Murisier of Team Switzerland skies during the Men's Downhill 1st training session ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at National Alpine Ski Centre on February 03, 2022 in Yanqing, China

Image credit: Getty Images

The world's top skiers were full of praise for the Beijing downhill course as athletes finally took to the piste.

The course in Yanqing is created entirely out of artificial snow and is yet to host a World Cup race or test event of any kind.

But on Thursday riders were able to get a taste of the run ahead of Sunday's opening race.

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And Italian contender Christof Innerhofer gave high marks to both the difficulty and fun factor of the slope.

"In terms of difficulty I give it 7.5 out of 10," he said. "But the fun factor was close to 10."

Overall World Cup leader Marco Odermatt of Switzerland and one of the favourites for multiple medals also gave a glowing assessment of the course.

"It’s a really great slope, they built up an incredible slope and it was fun to ski," he told reporters.

"For everyone it is new, it is a big challenge for the whole team to find the right set-up."

Switzerland's Stefan Rogentin posted the fastest of the training runs but athletes were more focused on learning the best lines for the run and experimenting with technique that fast times.

Indeed, for Austrian double Olympic champion Matthias Mayer this was his first experience of a course he had only seen on video.

"We had very little information," he said.

"You get a little bit of any idea of the terrain but you never know for sure. So it was definitely more inspection today than racing.

"I think there are many guys who can do well on this."

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