Super-G back for this

FIS removes double downhill races from the World Cup calendar

Vincent Kriechmayr will only compete in one downhill race in Kitzbühel next season.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The FIS has approved the race calendar for the coming season. There will be no more double downhill races for men in the Alpine World Cup this winter, not least due to the many injuries - there will also only be one downhill race in Kitzbühel in January. Instead, the super-G will return to the program.

The season will open again at the end of October in Sölden, regardless of the climate change issue, and will continue until the end of March, when the final in Sun Valley (USA) takes place.

Schladming show remains
In Austria, the World Cup circus will also be back in Gurgl (November 23/24) with slaloms. The women will also compete in technical races in Semmering (December 28/29), speed events in St. Anton (January 11/12) and the night slalom in Flachau (January 14). Immediately after the Kitz triple with super-G, downhill and slalom, the men will compete again in Schladming (January 28/29) in the RTL and slalom under floodlights. The highlight of the winter will be the World Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm in February.

Final in Sun Valley
It has been clear for some time that the speed races in Zermatt in November, which have always been canceled due to capricious weather conditions, will no longer take place. Similarly, after the traditional overseas block in December, there will be no second trip to the USA or Canada in the middle of the season. However, the entire squad will travel to the season finale in Sun Valley, Idaho, at the end of March. Before this US trip, two new technical races in Hafjell, Norway, are on the men's program. It was also decided to make the use of airbags mandatory in all speed races.

The ski jumpers will compete in the World Cup winter at the Four Hills Tournament in Innsbruck and Bischofshofen in Austria; there will be no ski flying at Kulm in 2024/25. Nor will there be a first-ever tour for the women. As in the past season, Eva Pinkelnig and Co. will alternate with the men only in Garmisch (31.12) and Oberstdorf (1.1.), followed by a normal hill double in Villach. As usual, the women's second stop in Austria will be Hinzenbach at the end of February, this time as the last stop before the World Championships in Trondheim.

There will be no ski flying at Kulm next season.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The World Cup for both genders will open on the third weekend in November in Lillehammer. In mid-December, the female jumpers will be guests for the first time in the World Cup at the Chinese Olympic facility in Zhangjiakou. On January 11 and 12, both sexes will test the new Olympic hill in Val di Fiemme. After the Raw Air in Norway, which has been scaled down this time, the season will come to an end for the women in Lahti (March 20/21) and for the men with the usual ski flying final in Planica (March 28-30).

Combined triple in Seefeld
Two Austrian World Cups will also be held in the combined in Ramsau (20/21 December) and the triple in Seefeld (31 January - 2 February) in 2024/25. The women will most likely be able to compete in large hill competitions for the first time at the end of the season in Oslo in mid-March. The Super Sprint competition format with short cross-country heats in elimination mode is also new.

The alpine boarders step on the gas in Bad Gastein.(Bild: Gasteinertal Tourismus GmbH, Stefan Lauterbach)

For Olympic snowboarding champion Anna Gasser, there will be a new competition in Klagenfurt's Wörthersee Stadium at the beginning of January, followed by a home World Cup double in Big Air on the Kreischberg. The alpine boarders will be racing in Bad Gastein in mid-January as usual.