American skier Mikaela Shiffrin Source: SITA/AP/Gabriele Facciotti
SÖLDEN – The start of the World Cup in downhill skiing in October is causing resentment more and more often. According to the SID agency, critics from the ranks of current and former competitors point out that with the current warming and bad conditions on European glaciers, this term loses its meaning.
American star Mikaela Shiffrin is also one of the critics. In Sölden, Austria, the track is ready for the men’s and women’s giant slaloms this weekend, but webcams showthat around it there are practically bare slopes with only dust in some places.
Shiffrin, the most successful skier in the history of the World Cup, does not consider the date of the opening race of the season in Sölden to be lucky in the current situation. “What we’re doing now makes little sense. How much should we adapt the environment to the terms we want? Or should we adapt our terms to the environment?” she stated.
[News] This is the first of the 2023/2024 season and it is positive
The FIS gives the green light following the snow control for the Solden giants on October 28 and 29 pic.twitter.com/GysHzotIuu— Top Ski News (@Top_Ski_News) October 19, 2023
Swiss Lara Gutová-Behramiová also considers the early start of the season illogical. “For many athletes, it would make sense to start in mid-November,” she noted.
The Austrian organizers used approximately 45,000 cubic meters of snow to prepare the race slope, which they had stored in special storage tanks since April. The General Secretary of the Austrian Federation, Christian Scherer, insists on the traditional start. “It is the first strong signal of the coming winter and is of great economic importance for the ski industry, winter tourism, and therefore also for the whole of Austria.” he emphasized.
Those pictures hurt
Looking at the almost bare Rettenbach glacier above Sölden, even the most successful German skier in the World Cup, Felix Neureuther, criticizes the current practice. “Those images hurt, they get in your head. The brutal effort the organizers put into these giant slaloms is not worth it in my opinion.” said the former racer.
The break after Sölden is not long in the World Cup this year. On November 8, the men will have their first training sessions for the new downhill in Zermatt, that is, as long as the snow conditions on the spot allow it.
Conditions on European glaciers have deteriorated dramatically in recent years. Almost none of them allow summer training, for which the elite competitors must therefore travel to the southern hemisphere. Long-term camps in New Zealand or Chile are financially very demanding.
Author: © Twitter list/Top Ski News Source: CTK
2023-10-25 11:02:48
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