Industry News
Heavy winds canceled the Men’s FIS Alpine World Cup Giant Slalom race in Sölden, Austria, today, Sunday, October 29, 2023. The first run started as planned but the wind continuously picked up and infrastructure was blown away and lifts were put on wind hold, forcing the race organizers to halt the race.
After an hour of delibration it was decided that the race was to be canceled. 47 of the men managed to fit in a first run before the race was halted. At that time, Marco Schwarz from Austria was in the lead, followed by Marco Odermatt from Switzerland with 0.29 seconds behind the Austrian rival. Third placed was France’s Alexis Pinturault.
Team USA skier River Radamus had skied into an impressive seventh place which would have earned him valuable FIS points but alas organizers decided to cancel the race.
Naturally, Schwarz was disappointed with the cancelation, “…but that’s part of the game and you can’t change the weather,” the Austrian said in an interview. “It won’t be fair with this wind so it was the right decision.”
Probably less disappointed was Norways Alexander Aamodt Kilde, who did not finish his first run, as he lost an edge in the top section of the course, causing him to slide out. Likewise, Switzerland’s Loic Meillard’s binding had given out on the same corner, ending his bid for FIS points.
The next Men’s event will be the Downhill at Matterhorn Ski Paradise, which will be the first ever cross-border event in FIS history, on November 11-12, 2023.
