The La Plagne bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is a bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track located in La Plagne, France. The track was the venue for the bobsleigh and luge competitions for the 1992 Winter Olympics whose host city was neighboring Albertville.
In 1986, Albertville was awarded the 1992 Winter Olympics over Sofia, Bulgaria; Falun, Sweden; Lillehammer, Norway; Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy; Anchorage, Alaska, United States; and Berchtesgaden, West Germany.[1] The track was constructed from September 1988 to December 1990 designed for use in bobsleigh and luge competitions with the drivers in mind.[2] Ice team staff was recruited in August 1990 while the first ice test was performed in January 1991.[2] The first bobsleigh test event was in February 1991 while the first luge test event was in March 1991.[2] The track hosted the skeleton event of the FIBT World Championshipsin1993.[3] Since the 1992 Winter Olympics, the track has been host to programs on bobsleigh rides performed by 1998 Winter Olympic medalist Bruno Mingeon.[4] The track was part of neighboring Annecy's bid package for the 2018 Winter Olympics which was submitted to the International Olympic Committee on 15 October 2009.[5]
The track consists of 6,500 cubic metres (8,500 cu yd) of concrete cooled by 80 km (50 mi) of 10 cm (3.9 in) diameter ammonia refrigeration piping that can keep the track cooled to −15 °C (5 °F).[2] When water is applied to ice up the track, a total of 15 ice workers manually apply the water to generate ice up to a thickness of 4 cm (1.6 inch) that is kept at a temperature of -7 to - 10 °C (14 to 19 °F).[2] The outside of the track is covered with insulation and wood.[2] 40 km (25 mi) of electrical conduit connects the track from start to finish, including timing, television cables, computers, and sensors.[2] Technicians from the bobsleigh and luge trackinIgls, Austria assisted the ice workers during production and maintenance of the ice for the 1992 Winter Olympics.[2]
| Sport[2] | Length of track | Number of turns | Vertical drop (start to finish) |
Average grade (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| meters | yards | meters | feet | |||
| Bobsleigh and skeleton | 1,507.5 | 1,648.6 | 19 | 124.5 | 408 | 8.29 |
| Luge – men's single | 1,249.50 | 1,366.47 | 15 | 110.62 | 362.9 | 8.8 |
| Luge – women's singles / men's doubles | 1,142.60 | 1,249.56 | 14 | 92.24 | 302.6 | 7.5 |
There are no turn names listed for the track.
| Sport | Record | Nation – athlete(s) | Date | Time (seconds) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-man | Track |  Germany – Christoph Langen / Marko Jacobs / Thomas Platzer / Sven Rühr
|
19 December 1998 | 57.31 |
| 2-man | Track | Germany – Christoph Langen / Thomas Platzer
|
18 December 1998 | 58.68 |
| 2-woman | Track | Germany – Laura Nolte / Deborah Levi
|
11 January 2020 | 1:00.67 |
| Monobob | Track |  United States – Kaysha Love
|
9 December 2023 | 1:03.79 |
| Sport | Record | Nation – athlete(s) | Date | Time (seconds) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Track |  Russia – Alexander Tretiakov
|
10 January 2020 | 59.28 |
| Women | Track | Russia – Elena Nikita
|
10 January 2020 | 1:01.35 |
| Sport | Record | Nation – athlete(s) | Date | Time (seconds) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's singles | Track |  Austria – Markus Prock
|
11 December 1995 | 45.176 |
| Women's singles | Track | Austria – Angelika Neuner
|
10 December 1995 | 45.277 |
| Men's doubles | Track | Germany – Patric Leitner / Alexander Resch
|
9 December 1995 | 45.022 |
|
| |
|---|---|
| Current artificial tracks |
|
| Former artificial tracks |
|
| Natural luge tracks |
|
45°31′18″N 6°40′40″E / 45.52167°N 6.67778°E / 45.52167; 6.67778
