© Philip Stanchev
Extraordinary news
Get the big news as it happens – straight to your email.
The slalom from the Alpine Skiing World Cup in Bansko was canceled due to bad weather conditions. The race was abandoned following 31 skiers started out of a total of 70 in the first run due to poor visibility and persistent rain mixed with snow. The results of the first skiers will not count, and the race will not be postponed.
Before the decision to cancel the slalom, Olympic champion Clément Noel led the standings, finishing in 49.13 seconds. Timon Haugen (Norway) was second, 0.27 seconds behind. Third in the standings, 0.38 seconds behind the leader, was Henrik Kristoffersen. All other skiers were more than a second behind, with fourth, Loic Mejar, 1.04 behind Noel.
Albert Popov ranked 22nd following the first run. He started with the 17th number, and due to the bad weather, the track conditions were already difficult and the track softened. The best Bulgarian skier was 3.59 seconds behind the leader.
After the 31st competitor started – Billy Major (Great Britain), the competition director of the International Ski Federation (FIS) Markus Waldner decided to stop the slalom.
The guest of the competition was the President Rumen Radev. FIS president Johan Elias also came to Bansko, as well as several skiing stars from the recent past – Alberto Tomba, Mark Girardelli, Tina Maze and Ted Ligeti.
Albert Popov later stated that the situation was very difficult: “I am angry that this happened right in front of the Bulgarian public, but apparently Sundays are cursed this season. My position for the second run was not bad at all. As they took me 3.5 seconds in the first heat, I might have done it in the second as well. But this terrain hides the danger of injuries. From the second gate we drove without any visibility. It was blind driving. We have to be happy that there were no injuries.”
© Philip Stanchev
He believes that the race was rightly canceled: “At the start everything is visible, your glasses are clean, but following the first gate the snow sticks to them and then you race blindly. You don’t know where you are. There is no need to lie, these were not race conditions. The track was super prepared, we saw a great race yesterday, but when the temperatures drop that much, along with the water, it’s very difficult.”
Regarding his season so far, Popov said: “This season I planned to stay in the top 10. The interesting thing was that I was the least prepared for the first start, but this was my best ranking. I had a problem with the fit on the skis. In following all, while riding, the skis are part of the body and should help you, not hinder you.”
#World #Cup #slalom #Bansko #canceled #due #bad #weather
