L'anneau de vitesse

This article is about the speed skating oval in Albertville, France. For the speed skating oval in Grenoble, France, see L'Anneau de Vitesse.

L'anneau de vitesse (French for 'speed oval') is a sports venue located in Albertville, France. It hosted speed skating events at the 1992 Winter Olympics.

L'anneau de vitesse

Full name	Anneau de Vitesse du Sauvay
Coordinates	45°39′50.52″N 6°22′15.23″E
Opened	1991

The stands, which remain present, were constructed as an airfoil from aerospace designs. The ice was made using 70 km (43 mi) of piping using R32 and brine refrigeration to cool the track to between −5 and −8 °C (23 and 18 °F) with 4 cm-thick (1.6 in) ice. Before this the surface was covered with 1.20 m (3 ft 11 in) of base sand in order to lay down the piping.

The track serves nowadays as a multipurpose stadium used for athletics and football events.

References

• 1992 Winter Olympics official report. pp. 84–7. (in English and French)