Val d’lsere, St. Moritz, Courchevel set to replace North American stops

By Published On: August 21st, 2020Comments Off on Val d’lsere, St. Moritz, Courchevel set to replace North American stops

Due to coronavirus travel restrictions in America, FIS was forced to make changes to the Alpine World Cup next season. Quarantine regulations have meant that FIS must move its North American competitions in November and December. All World Cup competitions in the USA and Canada have been moved to Europe. 

Val d’lsere, France will take on an additional weekend for men, replacing the Vail/Beaver Creek giant slalom races, moving up one weekend to Dec. 5-6. This makes room for an added downhill and super G on Dec. 12- 13 to replace one of the North American weekends. 

St. Moritz, Switzerland will add a downhill to its traditional weekend on Dec. 5-6 to compensate for the Lake Louise race. Additionally, Courchevel, France will host a two-race slalom and giant slalom later in December. 

“It will be a bit of a calmer season when we can plan and build the road to Cortina (World Cup) in a simpler way,” said Lars Melin, Swedish national team manager. “It is a healthy decision as the situation looks like it does. It is one thing to get there (North America), but it will not be sustainable for everyone to be quarantined when they return to Europe.”

The revised World Cup calendar will be approved following the FIS Technical Meetings, which are scheduled from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. The schedule will be posted on the FIS website on Oct. 3. 

“I’m sure it’s the right decision because with everything else going on this season and year, we have to try to control what we can and keep everyone as safe as we can,” said Mikaela Shiffrin. “That means some of my favorite races are going to be canceled, but if we are able to race at all, that’s a win.”

The Audi FIS Alpine World Cup season will kick off in Soelden, Austria on Oct. 17-18 for giant slalom races on the Rettenbach Glacier. The next stop will be the debut of host resort Lech/Zürs, Austria on Nov. 14-15, which will feature a men’s and women’s parallel race. 

The men’s and women’s World Cup is expected to return to the North American sites in the 2021-22 season.

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About the Author: Karina Schwartznau

Born and raised in Bonney Lake, Washington, Karina grew up ski racing for Crystal Mountain and PNSA. She competed for 14 years across the world until settling in Salt Lake City, where she attended the University of Utah and achieved degrees in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. She currently resides in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.