The poor weather conditions at the Austrian station forced the organizers to modify the weekend programme.
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Beat Feuz (here during training) and the runners will have to change their program.
After a first descent still scheduled for Friday, the second descent of the prestigious Alpine Skiing World Cup stage in Kitzbühel (Austria) has been postponed from Saturday to Sunday due to the weather forecast, the manager of the men’s circuit announced on Wednesday. The slalom, originally scheduled for Sunday, is now scheduled for Saturday.
Forecast snowfall
Heavy snowfall is expected in the Austrian station from Thursday, with a peak of precipitation on Saturday (between 30 and 60 cm of snow), and endangers the holding of races. The organizers have chosen to reverse the two competitions because, contested on a much shorter track, the slalom is easier to prepare in case of bad weather.
“If the forecast is correct, we will have a window for the descent on Friday. According to the forecasts we would have no chance of organizing a descent on Saturday. The slalom will already be complicated (…) Sunday’s descent will start at 1:30 p.m., that gives us time following the snowfall which should stop at noon, “explained Markus Waldner, the director of the men’s circuit, at the captains’ meeting.
No postponement to Monday
Waldner closed the door on a possible postponement to Monday, due to the first trips of skiers to China before the Beijing Olympics (February 4-20). Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde set the fastest time in the first official practice on Wednesday. The skiers have an appointment for a second official training Thursday at 11:30 am.