Bad Weather Cancels Downhill Race Again

You’ve heard of snow skiing?

Well, this was “no” skiing.

As expected, bad weather forced the cancellation of Sunday’s scheduled downhill race at Snowbasin.

The World Cup circuit went 0 for 3 on next year’s Olympic course, losing two downhill races and a super-giant slalom to the weather.

“It’s very disappointing for us,” Herwig Demschar, director of Alpine for the Salt Lake City Olympic Games. “I’ve been in this sport for quite a while and for me maybe it’s easier to take because I know how it goes. The weather’s stronger than all the people, you cannot fight it.”

The world’s best ski racers managed to get in two training runs on the course, designed for the 2002 Games by former Olympic downhill champion Bernhard Russi, and the general consensus is that the “Grizzy” course will be a formidable Olympic test.

One of the weekend’s canceled downhill races will be made up next Friday as part of a regular World Cup stop at Kvitfjell, Norway, a course that has been kind to U.S. skiers.

Tommy Moe won the downhill at the 1994 Lillehammer Games while Daron Rahlves, the reigning world champion in super-G, scored consecutive World Cup downhill victories last year on the Kvitfjell course.