La Plagne bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track

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.

History

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 Championships in 1993.[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]

Statistics

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 track in Igls, Austria assisted the ice workers during production and maintenance of the ice for the 1992 Winter Olympics.[2]

Track lengths and turns
Physical statistics
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.

Track records[6]
Sport Record Nation - athlete(s) Date Time (seconds)
Luge - men's singles Track Markus Prock -  Austria 11 December 1995 45.176
Luge - women's singles Track Angelika Neuner -  Austria 10 December 1995 45.277
Luge - men's doubles Track  Germany - Patric Leitner & Alexander Resch 9 December 1995 45.022

Championships hosted

References
  1. Gamesbids.com archives of past awards of Olympic Games. - accessed January 30, 2008
  2. 1992 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine pp. 92-95, 350-5. (in English and French) - accessed February 14, 2008.
  3. FIBT men's skeleton world championships results since 1989 Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Bobsleigh rides at La Plagne. Archived 2007-10-21 at Archive.today - accessed February 12, 2008.
  5. Annecy 2018 bid presentation featuring La Plagne (p. 4) - accessed 17 October 2009.
  6. USALuge.org tracks. - Click on La Plagne, France track and scroll down for track records on luge track records. Accessed 14 February 2008.

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