Deflowering the Matterhorn jump: Swiss downhill skiers write skiing history during training!

Now the protégés of the two Schwyzers have to deflower this Matterhorn jump two months before the World Cup premiere. «Although I have gained a lot of experience in this sport over the years, it is not easy to calculate the distance and the aerial position of the athletes when building such a jump. That’s why I’m particularly tense before the very first jump,” says Heinzer.

Special test for Chabloz

Yannick Chabloz’s pulse is also high. The man from Nidwalden with Vaudois roots has had two very bad times in the past year. In February he suffered fractures to his hand and shoulder during the combined downhill at the Beijing Olympics, and in December the 24-year-old injured his back on the “Stelvio” in Bormio. “After these two falls, I have to fight a mental block; my subconscious kept holding me back a bit during the last few training rides.”

Can the first flight over the Matterhorn in diffuse light solve this blockage? Coach Heinzer takes the shovel again before the start: “I have just discovered a ‘spicker’ at the drop-off table that needs to be defused.” After a few routine steps the problem is solved. Heinzer picks up the radio and says, “Hunt clear!”

Relief after Boisset’s jump

Significantly, it is a Valaisian who is about to fly over the Matterhorn after a few Super-G goals – Arnaud Boisset from Martigny, overall winner of the European Cup Super-G last winter. The 25-year-old races towards the jump edge at a speed of about 100 km/h. Seconds later, his trainers take a deep breath. Boisset landed safely on the 40 meter mark after a historic jump. “The jump works perfectly,” Heinzer whispers towards the start.

After this information, Super-G Swiss champion Denis Corthay (20) goes a little further and breaks the 50 meter barrier. Eastern Swiss veteran Ralph Weber (30), overall European Cup winner Josua Mettler (25), Super-G junior world champion Livio Hiltbrand (19), top talent Franjo von Allmen (22, three-time vice junior world champion 2022), Didier Cuches cousin Rémi Cuche (23), the Bernese Oberlander Lars Rösti (25) and the great future hope of the Zurich Oberlander Alessio Miggiano (21) then jump into a similar dimension.

“We will see jumps of 70 meters here!”

Yannick Chabloz also confidently passes the first real courage test after last year’s emergency landings. “I was quite impressed with this jump when I first saw it, but while riding everything worked perfectly,” Chabloz summarizes. “In terms of panorama, this jump is almost unbeatable: you really fly towards the Matterhorn,” says Ralph Weber.

Joshua Mettler calls it a “very nonchalant jump!” Franjo von Allmen also speaks of a “very nice jump. But I hope that the pace will be higher during the World Cup races so that we can jump up the steep slopes.” Franz Heinzer is convinced of this: “We will be doing jumps from 60 to 70 meters at this point during the World Cup downhills in November because the approach speed will be approximately 20 km/h higher than our Super-G training.”

Immediately after this mega jump, a technically extremely demanding journey towards the Italian border follows in the World Cup competitions. What worries the drivers most about the heavy battles on the “Gran Becca” is the expected travel time of two minutes. “At this altitude, after just one minute of training, I am already very out of breath. That’s why I find the thought of a two-minute run quite difficult at the moment,” admits Josua Mettler. The first Matterhorn descent starts on November 11.