Ski Sunday returns to our screens for its 36th consecutive year featuring all the thrills and excitement of the 2013/14 winter sports season.
Presenting duo Graham Bell and Ed Leigh are back to showcase the best action from the men’s and women’s alpine tour as BBC Sport begins the build-up towards the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia this coming February.
The iconic BBC show is back for seven episodes this winter with its usual mix of news, interviews, special features and breathtaking alpine skiing action.
With the emergence of a new generation of talented athletes, Great Britain’s hopes of a record medal haul at the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, which begin in two months time, have been raised significantly.
Alongside the best of British hopes for Sochi 2014, Ski Sunday will also feature many of the leading global athletes expected to star at the Games.
As attention turns to winter sports in the build-up to the Olympics, Ski Sunday will have two episodes before Christmas from Val d’Isere, on top of a further five shows during January.
In the first programme on December 15, Graham Bell and Ed Leigh are in France for the men’s giant slalom at the legendary Val d’Isere resort.
American Bode Miller signalled his return from an 18-month absence with a podium finish in the Beaver Creek giant slalom prior to Val d’Isere, but can he go one better this time, or will fellow Amercian sensation Ted Ligety continue his dominance on the slopes.
There will also be an exclusive interview with snowboarding superstar Shaun White, where Ed Leigh watched him in training over the summer ahead of the Winter Olympic season.
The two-time Olympic champion reveals his feelings of depression after his first win in Turin back in 2006, and also explains why he feels his will to win is sometimes frowned upon by his fellow riders.
In addition, the team be looking at British Sochi prospect Billy Morgan, who will compete against White in snowboard slopestyle, which will be making its Winter Olympic debut in February.
2010 Olympic skeleton champion Amy Williams returns to the Ski Sunday team for the series as a roving reporter, while Matt Chilton provides expert commentary on the alpine skiing action.
Extended coverage of selected winter sports events – including alpine skiing, ski cross and skeleton – will be available over each weekend via Ski Sunday Extra on the Red Button each weekend, complementing BBC Two’s Ski Sunday broadcasts.
Winter sports fans can get it touch with the Ski Sunday team by putting their questions and views via #BBCSkiSunday on Twitter.
Writing for the BBC Sport website, presenter Ed Leigh said: “Finally it’s arrived. This is the most excited I have ever been in the build up to a winter.
“Not only is there the real possibility of seeing not just one but three Britons standing on a Winter Olympic podium for the first time, in Sochi, this coming February, there are also huge dumps of snow being reported all over the Alps.
“And to top it off, Ski Sunday will have two episodes before Christmas from Val d’Isere, on top of five during January in the build-up to the Winter Games in Russia.”
The BBC is set to offer winter sports fans its most comprehensive coverage of a Winter Olympics Games ever as it showcases Sochi 2014 from February 7-23.
Over 200 hours of network TV coverage is set to be delivered to audiences, plus there will be up to six online streams covering all events live to ensure fans don’t miss a single moment.
Clare Balding, Hazel Irvine and Jonathan Edwards will anchor BBC Two’s live coverage direct from Sochi every day during the Games.
Details of each of the seven Ski Sunday 2013/14 episodes as well as other BBC winter sports coverage in the build-up to Sochi 2014 can be found below:
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Ski Sunday opens for business from the French resort of Val D’Isere with the men’s Giant Slalom which was won in 2012 by Marcel Hirscher, the best skier in the world last year.
Ed Leigh catches up with snowboard legend, multiple Olympic champion and all-round winter sport icon Shaun White in an exclusive interview.
Vancouver gold medallist Amy Williams turns tourist guide as she introduces us to all that Val D’Isere has to offer.
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Sunday 22nd December EPISODE 2: Val D’Isere 5.05pm-5.50pm BBC Two .Ahead of the Winter Olympics in February 2014, Graham Bell and Ed Leigh introduce coverage of women’s downhill racing on the World Cup circuit at Val d’Isere, followed by ski cross from Val Thorens.
Slovenian Tina Maze, who has broken just about every record in Alpine skiing, will be the one to watch in the downhill, though she faces stiff competition from the in-form Lara Gut of Switzerland, who won here last year.
American Lindsey Vonn, arguably the greatest downhill skier of all time, is recovering from a career-threatening injury but could challenge the two favourites.
The race is followed by the mayhem and danger of ski cross. After making its Olympic debut in Vancouver 2010, ski cross became hugely popular and promises to be a massive hit in Sochi 2014.
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Sunday 5th January EPISODE 3: Bormio 5.00pm-5.45pm BBC Two .Graham Bell and Ed Leigh travel to Bormio in Italy for the men’s downhill, following the cancellation of the Munich inter-city event due to warm temperatures.
The world’s best, including World Cup series leader Aksel Lund Svindal, are dusting off those Christmas cobwebs and hurling themselves down the punishing Pista Stelvio course.
With the Italians flying high in the rankings so far this season, Svindal faces stiff competition from home favourites Dominik Paris, Peter Fill and Werner Heel.
Elsewhere, Ed Leigh is catching up with Team GB’s slopestyle superstar Jenny Jones. And with the Olympics just over a month away, we are looking at another of our Tsars for the Future.
And with the Olympics just over a month away, the BBC team will be looking at the latest ones to watch for at Sochi 2014.
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Sunday 12th January EPISODE 4: Adelboden 5.00pm-5.45pm BBC Two .Graham Bell and Ed Leigh bring you more winter sport action from the beautiful Swiss ski resort of Adelboden.
The men’s giant slalom on the Kuonisbargli run is considered one of the season’s classic races. All eyes will be on the giant slalom specialist Ted Ligety, who will be attempting to repeat his victory here last year.
The American has owned this event in recent years and will be looking to hit form just weeks before the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Also concentrating on all things Olympic is British snowboarding legend Jenny Jones.
Ed Leigh catches up with the Bristolian who has been a British snowboarding trailblazer for over a decade but is only just about to make her Olympic debut.
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Sunday 19th January EPISODE 5: Wengen 5.15pm-6.00pm BBC Two .The Swiss resort of Wengen, home of the legendary Lauberhorn, plays host to the next instalment of Ski Sunday.
Graham Bell and Ed Leigh bring you all the action from this classic men’s downhill race.
Italian Christof Innerhofer took the title in an eventful race last year which was notable for Frenchman Johan Clarey becoming the first man to exceed 100mph in a World Cup race.
Ed Leigh also reflects upon the life of Shane McConkey, a man revered as a pioneer of free skiing, who tragically lost his life pushing the boundaries of his sport.
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Sunday 26th January EPISODE 6: Kitzbuhel 5.15pm-6.00pm BBC Two .Ski Sunday returns to Kitzbuhel in the Tyrol region of Austria to showcase the most exhilarating men’s downhill race on the planet.
The mighty Hahnenkamm Mountain plays host to the jewel in the crown of the World Cup alpine racing season.
The finest skiers in the world will look to etch their names into the history books, with Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal leading the charge.
We’ll also go sliding with Olympic skeleton gold medallist Amy Williams, as she heads back to the ice to give us an insight into the science behind this adrenaline-fuelled sport, where millimetres can be the difference between winning and losing.
We look at what propelled her to become the first British individual gold medallist at a Winter Olympics for 30 years in Vancouver in 2010.
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Sunday 2nd February EPISODE 7: Kitzbuhel 4.45pm-5.30pm BBC Two .The final episode of Ski Sunday comes from the Austrian ski resort of Schladming where the feature race is the spectacular men’s night slalom.
Host to the World Championships last year, the Schladming crowd were delighted to see home-favourite Marcel Hirscher claim gold on his way to his second overall World Cup crown
The Austrian will be hopeful of more of the same this year, but compatriot Mario Matt is the man to beat in this final World Cup Slalom before the Winter Olympics.
Ed Leigh catches up with reigning snowboard half-pipe gold medallist Torah Bright, who is hoping to break records in Sochi, where the Australian is attempting three different snowboard disciplines.
The team will also also assess the medal prospects of Team GB at the Games, with many are forecasting a record haul in the Russian mountains.
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