Industry News
The Local Organization Committee (‘LOC’) at the Matterhorn Speed Opening on the Swiss/Italian border announced this morning that the Women’s Downhill training run was canceled. Strong winds and heavy snowfalls made training impossible. Last week, the Men’s FIS Alpine World Cup Speed Opening was canceled. Both of the men’s downhill races had to be called off due to wind and snow and even two out of three training runs had to be canceled.
It seemed to be a good day today for a training run when looking at the Webcams: everything on the mountain was white and the sun was out, however, the wind was blowing at a gale-force, especially on the race course at Gran Becca. The first training was scheduled for today at 11:45 a.m. but was put on hold. Initially, the jury decided to postpone the final decision to 10:00 a.m., but after the early morning, it crystalized that the weather forecast was not going to improve, and it was canceled entirely.
The international speed specialists, including Italy’s speed queen Sofia Goggia and Switzerland’s Corinne Suter, had traveled to the Matterhorn Ski Paradise area for three training runs and two races this week. However, the strong winds prevented the first of three training sessions. The jury, which includes members of the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (‘FIS’) and the LOC, had no choice but to cancel today’s training.
Despite the wind, the athletes from the various teams took advantage of the almost cloudless sky and the ideal snow conditions in the Cervino Ski Paradise, which has been open to the public since Tuesday, November 14, to at least freeski.
As far as official training is concerned, the second attempt will be made on Thursday, November 16, 2023, with a training run scheduled for 11:45 a.m. The FIS Alpine World Cup Downhill races are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, November 18 and 19, 2023, both starting at 11:45 a.m. The Gran Becca, on which the best downhill skiers will be racing, is 2,910 meters (11,457 feet) long and has a difference in altitude of 665 meters (2,182 feet). The name Gran Becca means ‘the great peak’ in the local Italian dialect, referencing, of course, the iconic Matterhorn. The architect of the race course is one of Switzerland’s best downhill specialists, retired race skier Didier Défago.
- Related: First Ever Cross-Border FIS Alpine Race from Switzerland to Italy Sees Both Events Canceled
