Bad slope after rain: Slalom and Super-G canceled

Rain and snowfall hit the slopes so heavily that the conditions for a fair and safe conclusion to the women’s speed triple in St. Moritz and the second men’s technical race in Savoy were not possible.

It is the seventh cancellation (men) and third (women) in the current World Cup; across genders, only eleven of 21 race attempts were counted this season. In St. Moritz it was the amount of fresh snow that couldn’t be removed from the slopes in time. In Val d’Isere, the cancellation of the slalom race did not go without discussion.

ÖSV head coach Marko Pfeifer criticized the piste preparation. “If you have good basic preparation early enough with a 20 cm curling stick, then a race cancellation shouldn’t happen.” In his opinion, this was missing in Savoy. After a nightly storm and rain, snowfall would have stripped the runway. “Now we have quite a pile of tubers on the slopes. It was impossible to ski there today,” explained Pfeifer.

“We actually thought it would work. But I wasn’t on the slopes, they’ll know what they’re doing,” said Manuel Feller. He tried positive thinking. “At least there is snow, it’s not green all around, that was different last year. The mood is right, we’re looking ahead.”

There have only been two winners in the men’s World Cup so far: Feller (Slalom/Gurgl) and Marco Odermatt (RTL/Val d’Isere). Now South Tyrol is calling with a monster program of five races in five days. The third attempt at the speed opening will take place in Val Gardena next week after Zermatt/Cervinia and Beaver Creek; two downhill runs and a Super-G are planned. Then we continue with two giant slaloms in Alta Badia.

After a “mega-cool” second place in the giant slalom on Saturday, Marco Schwarz will arrive “with a positive feeling” and as the overall World Cup leader. “Now it’s time to switch on speed mode again. I’m looking forward to the camel humps and the Ciaslat.”

The women ran two races in Switzerland, with Sofia Goggia (Super-G) and Mikaela Shiffrin (Downhill) being the first winners of the season in the fast field. From an Austrian perspective, Cornelia Hütter was particularly convincing with second and fourth places. Stephanie Venier and Mirjam Puchner were also at the forefront with two top ten placements each. Things continue at a rapid pace. A downhill run is planned in Val d’Isere next Saturday and a Super-G on Sunday.

Hütter received the news of the cancellation with surprise. “We already knew that snow was coming, but St. Moritz is always so on the ball with the helpers, it’s a great committee.” The security concerns mentioned are of course to be accepted. “It’s time to gather energy and be ready next week in Val d’Isere.” Stephanie Venier took it just as pragmatically. “Safety first.”