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In view of the expected warm temperatures, the FIS World Ski Federation changed the starting rule for the second round of the men’s slalom at the World Cup on short notice. It is not the 30th of the first test that will open the second stage on Sunday in Cortina d’Ampezzo, but the athlete with the 15th fastest time. “The jury can do that if there is a problem with the slope,” said ÖSV racing director Andreas Puelacher of the APA.
After the best 15, it continues with the 16 of the first round, after which it continues in ascending order until the last. This was announced by the jury at the team captains meeting on Saturday night.
According to point 620 of the International Ski Competition Regulations, “special regulations may be issued” for the Winter Olympic Games, World Ski Championships, FIS World Cups and Continental Cups. Under 621.11.3 it says: “The jury may reduce the rollback to the first 15 ranked competitors from the first race at least one hour before the start of the first race.” In Article 9.5 of the World Cup Rules, which prevail over the competition rules, it is stated that the 30 best placed “must” start in reverse order, not necessarily.
Too hot weather is a hazard for the slopes
The background is that the temperature on Sunday should rise even more than in the women’s slalom on Saturday. It is feared that the slope will give way quickly, the slope is almost entirely in the sun until the afternoon. Also, the track is used more by men. With this step, the jury wants to give a better surface to the fastest of the first section and guarantee fair conditions when the medal is awarded.
However, this also means that those who made it past the top 15 in the final will hardly have a chance to reach a higher position. In the last World Cup race before the Chamonix World Championship, the Swiss Sandro Simonet had gone from 30th place to third. In Saturday’s women’s slalom, Katharina Liensberger from Vorarlberg, with the number one start, set the best time in both the first heat and 30th in the final and was crowned world champion.
