Are: Delays not causing panic at World Championships

ARE, Sweden — As worn out as Guenter Hujara himself appeared during an afternoon press conference Monday after weather again wiped out racing at the World Championships, he began his remarks by praising the tireless work of the volunteer force.
    More than 300 workers continued their snowclearing efforts while battling fierce winds at the top of the super G courses Monday. Hujara, the men’s race director for the World Cup who’s serving the same role at these World Championships, said up to 6-meter drifts of snow had built up in spots near the top of the men’s super G course, which is more exposed to the wind than the top of the women’s course.
    “This was just an incredible amount of snow to move,” Hujara said. “The [safety] nets were in very bad condition, so there was no choice for us in the morning — even if we would have been able to push the snow out of the track to the upper start — because we could not finish the work with the nets, and it’s still a lot of work to get things ready."
ARE, Sweden — As worn out as Guenter Hujara himself appeared during an afternoon press conference Monday after weather again wiped out racing at the World Championships, he began his remarks by praising the tireless work of the volunteer force.
    More than 300 workers continued their snowclearing efforts while battling fierce winds at the top of the super G courses Monday. Hujara, the men’s race director for the World Cup who’s serving the same role at these World Championships, said up to 6-meter drifts of snow had built up in spots near the top of the men’s super G course, which is more exposed to the wind than the top of the women’s course.
    The men and women will race separate super G courses here, but the tracks come together near the bottom and into the finish stadium.
    “This was just an incredible amount of snow to move,” Hujara said. “The [safety] nets were in very bad condition, so there was no choice for us in the morning — even if we would have been able to push the snow out of the track to the upper start — because we could not finish the work with the nets, and it’s still a lot of work to get things ready.”
    “That’s why we decided [Monday], together with the weather forecast which gives us at least better conditions in the future than today, to postpone the race.”
     Monday’s postponement sets up the possibility of a busy Tuesday, when both the men and women’s super G events are now scheduled. The plan now calls for the men’s start at 10 a.m. followed by the women at 12:30 p.m.     
    Hujara said he will do everything possible to ensure the men finish quickly enough for the women to start on time because of the television time allocated to the races in Europe. Live coverage of the biathlon world championships are scheduled for 2:15 p.m., so completing the women’s event by that time is crucial, Hujara said.  
    “We work to be really precise on our times and we will use all tools we have,” he said. Those tools could include 1 minute intervals between racer starts and limiting or even excluding television breaks.
    Hujara said it will be possible to finish the 69-racer event in as few as 80 minutes.
    “I think the cooperation between all parties is so good and we are so flexible that we try to complete both races tomorrow,” Hujara said.
    The weather forecast should cooperate, according to meteorologist Pia Hultgren.
    Hultgren, who’s been the center of attention in Are since the worlds began, said the winds will decrease dramatically overnight, the temperature will drop into the teens Fahrenheit and the skies will begin to clear.
    “I still feel I have [the forecast] under control,” Hultgren said.
    FIS President Gian Franco Kasper certainly isn’t ready to panic.  
    “We are still not in a crisis … but we need tomorrow,” he said. “I honestly don’t care if it’s men or ladies, preferably both, of course, but we need to race. We have to get these World Championships started.”
    Kasper stressed that the FIS would never sacrifice racer safety to get a race in, and he added that these kinds of delays have happened at past World Championships. With a number of competition-free days left in the program, Kasper said more days could include multiple races in order to complete the event.  
    So, weather permitting, the racing at these World Championships will begin Tuesday. The men will run from the reserve start at the Lillbranten section of the course, while the plan calls for the women to run their full-length course.