Race cannot take place

Fog! Men’s Super-G in Courchevel canceled

There will be no race in Courchevel today.(Bild: AP/Giovanni Auletta)

Due to fog in Courchevel, the men's Super-G, originally scheduled for 11 a.m., has been canceled.

The men’s World Cup Super-G on Saturday in Courchevel has been canceled. The forecasted weather change had arrived—snowfall, fog, and poor visibility made it impossible to hold the third-to-last event in this discipline this winter. Another race is scheduled for Sunday (10:45 a.m.), but this Super-G is also in jeopardy due to the weather. Another cancellation would secure the small crystal globe for Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt.

“Everything is coming together. There’s fog, heavy snowfall, and sleet in the lower section of the course. The slope is softened, so a race is out of the question,” said ÖSV men’s head coach Marko Pfeifer. Stefan Babinsky had already doubted whether the race could take place during the course inspection given the conditions. “It’s raining very hard down at the finish, and it’s snowing up top. There’s fog too. It’s hard to race under these conditions,” said the Styrian.

Odermatt on the verge of winning the Crystal Globe
According to Marco Schwarz, the course has also suffered quite a bit. It would have taken “a miracle” to be able to race, said the Carinthian, who compared the situation to Garmisch two weeks ago. There, the Super-G had also been canceled due to similar conditions; it was supposed to be rescheduled in Courchevel. Now the race has been canceled without a replacement. In a sense, Odermatt benefits from the cancellation, as he leads the Super-G standings with a 158-point lead over Vincent Kriechmayr. If the race is also canceled on Sunday, the Swiss skier is guaranteed the Crystal Globe.

Marco Odermatt(Bild: GEPA)

Kriechmayr won the downhill on Friday, ending a three-year winless streak for the Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV) in the fastest alpine discipline. Whether the Upper Austrian and his teammates can follow up with a win in Sunday’s Super-G is uncertain given the weather forecasts. A significant amount of fresh snow is predicted. “We’re preparing for a race. They’ll certainly do everything they can. We definitely want to have a race, at least a Super-G here. After all, that’s one of our strongest disciplines. The course remains the same,” said Pfeifer.

Course “sensitive”
FIS Race Director Markus Waldner also expressed confidence for Sunday. However, he noted, “We have to be careful not to ruin the course. It’s very sensitive,” Waldner told ORF. If Sunday’s Super-G is also canceled, it would not be possible to reschedule it, as the World Cup finals in Kvitfjell are already scheduled for next week.