Dead Oreste Peccedi, coach architect of the Blue Avalanche

Died Oreste Peccedi, coach architect of the Blue Avalanche

Serious mourning in Italian alpine skiing: è died at the age of 84 Oreste Peccedi, legendary coach of the Valanga Azzurra, one of the mostù important figures in the history of Italian alpine skiing.

Born in Bormio in 1939, Peccedi began his coaching career in the second half of the '1950s; then, between 1968 and 1976, he was a technician for the Italian men’s national team, particularly the slalom skiers, under the guidance of technical commissioners Jean Vuarnet (1968 to 1972) and Mario Cotelli (1972 to 1976).

In those years, Italy men’s alpine skiing won its first World Cup victories, and within a short time its numerous successes earned it the name Valanga Azzurra after its five-peat in the Bertchtesgadenn giant slalom on January 7, 1974.

The athletes led by Cotelli and Peccedi, and by downhill skiers’ coach Luciano Panatti, won in those eight years 42 victories in World Cup races, 5 general and 6 specialty crystal cups collected by Gustav Thöni and Piero Gros and 12 medals between Olympic Games and World Championships.

When his time with the national team was over, Peccedi designed the Stelvio slope in his native Bormio for the 1985 World Championships: one of the most iconic tracks on the World Cup circuit.