Black day for the great white circus. The two Alpine Ski World Cup races scheduled for Sunday, December 10, the men’s slalom in Val-d’Isère (Savoie) and the women’s super-G in Saint-Moritz (Switzerland), were canceled due to poor weather conditions in the night.
“Due to the current conditions of the track after the rains and snowfall overnight and to ensure the safety and fairness of the runners, the jury has decided to cancel the slalom scheduled for today,” announced the International Ski Federation (FIS). Before doing the same for the women’s super-G “due to a drastic change in the condition of the track” and “to guarantee the safety of the athletes”.
“Really disappointed, we’re a little confused,” reacted French Olympic champion Clément Noël, at his home in Val-d’Isère. It’s a shame, I felt good and I especially wanted to race in front of the French public. »
The Alpine Skiing World Cup continues its disastrous start to the season, particularly for the men, who thus saw a seventh race canceled out of nine initially scheduled. The women have so far been a little luckier in terms of the weather with only three races canceled for nine contested.
“Finding avenues for the future”
At the end of October, the opening men’s giant slalom in Sölden, Austria, had to be canceled due to wind after around forty skiers passed through. Then there were the downhills (men and women) in Zermatt, Switzerland, and the men’s races in Beaver Creek, in the United States, which could not take place due to bad weather conditions (falling snow and gusts of snow). wind).
“It’s very frustrating not to race, for all the work that it represents in terms of organization,” said Frenchman Victor Muffat-Jeandet. We may have to find avenues for the future, because many times there is a lot of effort for no show at the end. »
In fact, the men were only able to ski one slalom, in Gurgl, Austria, in mid-November, and a giant in Val-d’Isère on Saturday. The pure speed specialists have not yet been able to put on a bib.
These multiple cancellations are a headache for the FIS, which is struggling to reschedule races in an already very busy calendar. If a giant and a men’s downhill could be rescheduled, the five other canceled men’s races (three downhills, a super-G and Sunday’s slalom) and the three women’s races (two downhills, a super-G) are not yet sure to be reprogrammed.
The World Cup continues Thursday in Val Gardena, Italy, for the men, while the women meet in Val-d’Isère on Saturday.