Crans-Montana, Switzerland – Since the beginning of the week, a total of 2,20 meter of fresh snow has hit the famed resort of the Swiss Alps. Organisers have worked day and night on the race hill with the help of 200 volunteers and put enormous efforts to make the downhill race happen on Saturday after two days of training. Unfortunately it snowed heavily on Friday night and the jury didn't have any other option but to cancel and postpone the race until Sunday, 10:30 CET. The Alpine Combined scheduled for Sunday is therefore cancelled and will not be replaced this season.

“We worked without interruption from 12.00 to 18:00 yesterday afternoon and then again from midnight on, with five snow cats on the race track,” explained Marius Robyr, President of the organising committee. “But unfortunately, it didn't stopped snowing as we were hoping for. It snowed almost 80 to 90 cm at the top and because of the wind, there was even 1.20 to 1.30m in some places.”

“We realised rapidly that it wouldn't be possible to prepare a World Cup track of quality and provide total safety for the racers. After an inspection around 8:30 this morning, the jury together with the organising committee decided to cancel the race and dedicate the day to preparing the hill for tomorrow,” Robyr concluded.

20 to 30 cm of snow is still expected on Saturday afternoon, but the organisers are up for the challenge.

Source: fis-ski.com