Maribor slalom scratched after 25 starters

By Published On: January 31st, 2016Comments Off on Maribor slalom scratched after 25 starters

It doesn’t happen often, but Sunday’s slalom race in Maribor, Slovenia, was cancelled after 25 athletes — mirroring the downhill at Kitzbuehel more than a slalom race. Rapidly deteriorating conditions were deemed both unsafe and unfair for athletes.

Sarka Strachova, who was tied with Wendy Holdener for first place at the time of the cancelation and functioned as the athlete representative for the day, said that even before the race, the majority of skiers did not want to race considering the surface conditions. FIS officials and race organizers worked hard to try and prep the hill before the start, but efforts proved futile.

MARIBOR,SLOVENIA,31.JAN.16 - ALPINE SKIING - FIS World Cup, slalom, ladies. Image shows race director Atle Skaardal (FIS). Keywords: race cancellation. Photo: GEPA pictures/ Markus Oberlaender

“I think that it was a good decision to try to work on the hill this morning and see if we could improve it and bring it up to an acceptable standard,” FIS Chief Race Director Atle Skaardal explained. “Everyone agreed on starting the race but there was also a unanimous agreement within the jury that it was the right moment to stop the race as well, since we realize(d) it was not going to hold up until the end.”

For most of the athletes, the cancellation may come with feelings of disappointment, but for injured skier Mikaela Shiffrin, there is a ray of hope. This cancellation keeps her — mathematically speaking, at least — still eligible for the slalom title, and might provide extra motivation as the American returned to snow for the first time since December earlier this weekend. Shiffrin is only still mathematically in the hunt if the FIS decides reschedule this race – and there is still no word on if it will  – and if Shiffrin returns to competition in Stockholm, Sweden, for the city event on Feb. 23.

For her first day back on snow, Shiffrin did as most mere mortals do: she focused on drills.

“Today, I was just focusing on keeping my speed low and consistent. Lot of drills, working on technical stuff,” she said in an interview at the Loveland Ski Club.

Miki! Mikaela Shiffrin is back on snow! We are incredibly excited to have been a part of your first runs in 8 weeks at Loveland Ski Area. Congratulations for all the hard work put into rehab. Awesome to see you back on skis, and thanks for skiing with us today on your first day back from injury. We are excited to see what the rest of the year has in store! So great to watch you ski and you’re welcome back anytime.

Posted by Loveland Ski Club on Saturday, January 30, 2016

 

Women’s World Cup action continues in Garmisch, Germany, next week with a downhill training run, where everyone is anxiously waiting to see if snow conditions will improve.

Stay current on the World Cup circuit by downloading the U.S. Ski Team iOS app powered by Ski Racing here.

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About the Author: Gabbi Hall

A California native, Gabbi moved to Vermont to ski on the NCAA circuit for St. Michael’s College, where she served as team captain and studied journalism. Before joining Ski Racing, she worked as a broadcast TV producer and social media manager in higher education. She can be reached via email at gabbi@skiracing.com