Bludenz (RWH) Curtain up for the "Eiskanal Bludenz": With the IBSF Europe Cup in skeleton, the probably most cost-effective artificial ice track in the world will celebrate a premiere on 2 December 2022, only one year after its opening. For the first time, the Ice labyrinth with 750 metres length in Bludenz (AUT), which was built at a cost of only 7.8 million euros thanks to an innovative construction method, will have its baptism of fire as a competition venue for the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation IBSF.
A new type of construction was used to build the facility. In contrast to conventional artificial ice rinks, a slender, shaping prefabricated concrete element was used in Bludenz, which is equipped with a fine cooling pipe network and embedded in a statically supporting in-situ concrete structure. The original idea for the new construction method was developed by the Research Centre for Snow, Ski and Alpine Sports at the University of Innsbruck in cooperation with the Austrian Luge Federation (ÖRV).
Bludenz, once a pure natural ice track in luge, is the second stop of the Skeleton Europe Cup in the post-Olympic winter. After the season opener in Lillehammer (NOR), China's Haifeng Zhu and Great Britain's Freya Tarbit lead the overall ranking. ©RWH2022
Photos: IBSF
