hile a difficult start to the 2018/2019 Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup season has seen the cancellation of scheduled events in Val Thorens and Montafon, good news has finally come from Arosa where a rescheduled night event competition will take place in two weeks time, on December 17. 

The conditions in the northern Alps have been very challenging in the last couple of weeks, and despite recent improvements the lack of significant snowfall and relatively warm temperatures have spoilt the planned kick-off of the Audi FIS Cross Alps Tour on December 4, as the organisers struggled to produce enough snow to build the course. 

After an intensive week-end of planning and exploring various possibilities, FIS has announced that the season’s opening competition will now take place on Monday, December 17 in Arosa, giving the organisers there an additional week to get the sprint course ready for ski cross action under the lights. 

The competition in Switzerland will also serve as the first stop of the Audi FIS Cross Alps Tour with two more races scheduled in Innichen/San Candido (ITA) just before the holiday break on December 20-22. 

The snow situation in the Italian resort is looking good and both races are confirmed to take place according to the plan, making this year’s CAT shorter than usual, but taking into account the circumstances, still highly anticipated. 

As for the competition format, the Cross Alps Tour rules in which the top 4 athletes in the ranking will be guaranteed a spot in the finals even if falling below the qualification line, will only apply at the first stop in Arosa, with the regular World Cup rules in place for the stop in Innichen.

Also worth mentioning is that the warning card system for infractions that take place during competition has been modified. The new three-stage system consists of a verbal warning, a yellow card, and a red card. Two verbal warnings results in a yellow card, with two of those resulting in a red card. An athlete assessed a yellow card will be demoted to last place in the heat, and the cards stays with that athlete for the duration of the season. An athlete assessed a red card results in a ban from racing for two competitions. All of which adds an extra incentive for athletes to play it safe throughout what is sure to be an exciting Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup season.

QUICK LINKS

• Arosa FIS data page (event programme, start lists, live scoring, results)
• Updated competition programme
• 2018/2019 Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup calendar