The Ski World Cup, a success story

Around two and a half weeks from now, the Alpine Ski World Cup kicks off again, thrilling audiences around the world. It will be the latest chapter in a story that began in the mid 1960s – a story whose first author was the dynamic and inventive Serge Lang.

The French sports journalist (and President of the Association Internationale des Journalistes de Ski) came up with the idea of an Alpine Ski World in 1966 on the Seidlalm in Kitzbühel. Together with the team managers of France and the USA – Honoré Bonnet and Bob Beattie – as well as Sepp Sulzberger of the Austrian Ski Association, Lang vowed to make his dream a reality. This idea was officially presented in Portillo (Chile) by Marc Hodler (President of the FIS) that summer.

The foundations of the World Cup had been laid long before, with international competitions such as the Alpine Cup in Davos and the Tri-Nations in Vail paving the way for a new format. Though the "Skieur d'Or" (awarded by international ski journalists since 1963), was important, it was not enough to objectively determine the world's best and thus create global heroes.

The athletes themselves immediately recognised the value of the new series of events. When France's Jean-Claude Killy became Olympic champion in 1968, he declared: "I'm happy to win. But now it's about winning the World Cup, that's even more important.”

The World Cup has come a long way over the decades, with more than 3600 races held since the first overall victories of Killy and Nancy Greene (CAN). In 1967 there were 17 men's and women's races, while this season there will be 90, enjoyed by millions of ski fans around the world. We can't wait for the excitement to start – and for that, we are truly grateful to Serge Lang and his fellow visionaries.