The cancellation of Friday’s women’s World Cup downhill in Crans-Montana has sparked one of the most heated debates of the season, raising difficult questions about consistency, athlete safety, and whether external factors influenced a decision that many racers believed was premature.
The race on the demanding Mont Lachaux slope was called off on Friday, January 30, after just six athletes had started. Three of those six—Nina Ortlieb, Marte Monsen, and Lindsey Vonn—failed to finish, with Vonn’s crash ultimately becoming the defining moment of the morning. Television cameras continued rolling as the American was airlifted from the course, while visibly frustrated athletes gathered at the race start as the decision was radioed up, their reactions quickly spreading across social media.
Several top racers were caught on hot microphones. “This is so unfair,” one athlete could be heard saying. Breezy Johnson openly expressed her frustration, noting she had raced in significantly worse conditions earlier in the season. Germany’s Kira Weidle-Winkelmann appeared confused by the decision, saying, “The coach says it’s fine.”
An American team coach joins in confirming that multiple national federations had voiced their displeasure. One athlete off camera can be heard saying that that recent races in places like Tarvisio, Italy, went ahead in arguably poorer conditions. For many, the cancellation felt inconsistent with how similar situations had been handled elsewhere this winter. The frustration and confusion among the athletes is palpable.
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However, Sofia Goggia’s reaction was among the most pointed. Shrugging and sighing on camera, the Italian said, “Some athletes count more than others,” a comment widely interpreted as a reference to Vonn. The timing of the cancellation just after Vonn had crashed has only intensified that perception. With the race called off, Vonn retained her commanding lead in the 2025-26 season downhill standings with 400 points. Emma Aicher currently sits in second plaqce, 135 points back; a victory on Friday would have cut that gap to just 35 points and turned the crystal globe race into a genuine fight heading into the final few weeks post the Olympics.
Austria’s Cornelia Hütter, who was not caught on camera, echoed that confusion in an interview with Austrian TV station ORF. “Falls in downhill are always difficult, especially so severe,” she said. “But I slipped down myself and the view was okay.” Hütter questioned the explanation given by race officials, adding, “If it was because of visibility, I don’t really understand that. And if it was because of the slope, I don’t understand that either.”
Criticism also came from coaches and sponsors in the industry. According to German newspaper Bild, HEAD race team boss Rainer Salzgeber was blunt in his assessment. “I think it was awful that they canceled the race,” he told Blick. “I spoke to many athletes who came down without a race. Everyone reported great conditions and was angry because of the cancellation.” Salzgeber added that visibility at the time of the decision was, in his view, acceptable. A view that Swiss head coach Beat Tschuor shared: “The cancellation was the completely wrong decision. Exactly in those 45 minutes after that we had a very good visibility. I was very surprised.”
The Local Organising Committee in Crans-Montana and the FIS have firmly defended the call. In a statement, the LOC said the cancellation became unavoidable after six starters, three DNFs, and rapidly deteriorating conditions. “The security conditions were no longer met,” the organizers said.
FIS Women’s World Cup race director Peter Gerdol emphasized that the decision was driven by safety, not by any single athlete. “The problem is that the situation and visibility conditions suddenly became too dangerous,” he explained. “We knew we had a very short window. That window shrank because of interruptions, and in the end the situation became clearly too dangerous.”
Importantly, both officials and athletes stressed that the Mont Lachaux course itself was not the issue. “The track itself is very good. The organizers did a good job,” said Swiss Olympic champion Corinne Suter, one of the three skiers who made it to the finish before the cancellation. “The visibility was the problem. When you don’t see properly, it becomes very complicated on such a track.” French skier Romane Miradoli agreed, pointing to the Olympic Games starting in a week and the need to ensure all athletes remain healthy.
Gerdol acknowledged that the crashes were technically caused by line and trajectory errors, but argued those mistakes were a direct consequence of deteriorating visibility. “We know skiing is a high-risk sport,” he said. “But we don’t want to expose athletes to excessive risk.”
Whether the race would have been canceled if Vonn had not been among those that crashed is pure speculation at this point. However, it is not new that controversy follows the American ski racer. Throughout her career, Vonn has polarized like no other athlete. Always outspoken and honest, Vonn has never held back on her opinion—even long before her comeback to ski racing at age 40. The attention Vonn has received throughout her career has left many other capable athletes in her shadow, so scrutiny around preferential treatment of the legendary athlete are not new and will certainly not be the last. The American athlete being taken away by helicopter after skiing down to the finish unassisted after her crash certainly stoked speculations that this was purely a media stunt—apparently Vonn is currently filming a documentary about her comeback. A camera team has been following her every move at the World Cup this season.
The controversy highlights the difficulty in making the right decision in these situations. Had a cancellation happened after more racers had crashed, or an athlete’s serious injury, critics would have questioned why the race had not been called off earlier. When races proceed in poor conditions at one location but are canceled at another, questions are inevitable. Given the Olympics are just days away, the decision seems to have been driven by utmost caution rather than a preferential treatment of some athletes. However, it is also entirely understandable that several athletes were frustrated and disappointed by the decision.
Flat light even on a recreational ski run is not good. You lose depth perception, and details can become a blur. Imagine going 70 mph on an FIS downhill course in those same conditions. To call off that race was appropriate as to prevent more racers from injury