Strong winds on Matterhorn mountain force another cancellation of women’s World Cup downhill race

LAGHI CIME BIANCHE, Italy (AP) — Persistent strong winds on the Matterhorn mountain wiped out another women’s World Cup downhill Sunday, a day after gusts forced the cancellation of the first speed race of the season.

Organizers delayed the start time twice but called off the event as conditions failed to improve.

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation said the race jury and local organizers canceled the downhill “due to strong wind gusts” making a fair and safe race impossible.

Saturday’s race was postponed and then canceled as the ski lifts could not be operated in the early morning and the winds made conditions too dangerous for a race.

It was not immediately clear if or when the races would be rescheduled.

The wind had already reduced training opportunities during the week, with only one of three scheduled sessions taking place on Thursday.

The cancellations came a week after both men’s downhills on the same course were called off because of heavy snowfalls and strong winds.

The Zermatt-Cervinia downhills against the backdrop of the Matterhorn, the first cross-border races in World Cup history, were introduced by FIS last season as a potentially spectacular opening of the speed season, but all four race weekends have been canceled so far.

The races in October and November 2022 didn’t take place amid a lack of snow after an unseasonably warm autumn.

As a result, there has yet to be a downhill race at the Gran Becca course, which starts in Switzerland at 3,700 meters (12,100 feet) and crosses the border to finish in Italy.

The downhills were the first women’s races to be canceled this season, after a giant slalom in Austria and two slaloms in Finland took place as scheduled.

Defending overall champion Mikaela Shiffrin, who won a slalom in Levi a week ago for her 89th career World Cup win, leads the standings.

The women’s World Cup continues with two more tech races, with a giant slalom and a slalom scheduled for Killington, Vermont, next weekend.

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