Zwiesel: Storm halts racing, GS canceled

Rain, lightning, snow and strong winds from deadly storm Emma have forced the postponement of the women's World Cup slalom race at Zwiesel, Germany, on Saturday.
    "It was lightning and raining," U.S. coach Patrick Riml said, adding that the lightning was the real problem. Riml said there had been snow on Friday, but it had switched to rain and had continued much of the night.
    The FIS has rescheduled the slalom race to Sunday and canceled the GS planned for Sunday. That race will not be made up. That makes Denise Karbon's lead in the GS standings insurmountable and she is the 2008 GS Champion.

Rain, lightning, snow and strong winds from deadly storm Emma have forced the postponement of the women's World Cup slalom race at Zwiesel, Germany, on Saturday.
    "It was lightning and raining," U.S. coach Patrick Riml said, adding that the lightning was the real problem. Riml said there had been snow on Friday, but it had switched to rain and had continued much of the night.
    The FIS has rescheduled the slalom race to Sunday and canceled the GS planned for Sunday. That race will not be made up.
    Elisabeth Goergl was expected to try to dent the lead of Denise Karbon in GS. And Maria Riesch was hoping for a "make-good," repaying her German fans for a poor performance she turned in Ofterschwang two weeks ago.
    Either way Zwiesel's results were expected to play into the hands of Nicole Hosp and her quest to catch and maybe pass Lindsey Vonn in the race for the overall title.
    Instead Zwiesel went to Emma, a Hurricane that has claimed at least nine lives across Europe. Generally speaking, a storm big enough to warrant a name is going to have an impact. When Emma overwhelmed the village limits overnight, FIS race director Atle Skaardal said it "offered no prospects," of holding a race.
    The resulting cancellation makes Karbon's lead in the GS standings insurmountable and leaves Elisabeth Goergl to ponder next season. Emma also put a significant hit to Hosp, who is already short on chances to put some pressure on Vonn.
    “We are going to celebrate tonight in the hotel,” Karbon said on Gazzetta dello Sport’s Web site. “I heard the news a few minutes ago and had a really strange feeling because I really hoped to run this race. But the conditions here are very ugly.”