Wengen: McNichol questions ''horrific" conditions

WENGEN, Switzerland — It didn't matter if it was neither fun nor fair, the International Ski Federation was going to get a race in.
    Mario Matt won a World Cup super-combi on Sunday, benefiting by being the first down the slalom course that was chopped up after only three skiers had raced down it.

WENGEN, Switzerland — It didn't matter if it was neither fun nor fair, the International Ski Federation was going to get a race in.
    Mario Matt won a World Cup super-combi on Sunday, benefiting by being the first down the slalom course that was chopped up after only three skiers had raced down it.
    Matt was 34th in the morning downhill leg on the Lauberhorn course, and therefore should have run 34th the slalom. But four racers ahead of him withdrew from the race — including Austrian teammates Hermann Maier and Georg Streitberger — boosting him into 30th position.
    Because the top 30 skied the slalom in reverse order, Matt was the first down a Jungfrau course that had been affected by rain and warm weather all week.
    Organizers had even replaced a scheduled slalom with a super-combi, believing the course would not hold up under two runs.
    The slalom course became increasingly chopped up with later skiers having to negotiate deep ruts. Brown soil could be seen through the thin layer of deteriorating snow.
    "It was OK that we raced like this. The conditions are like they are. It wasn't dangerous,'' said Silvan Zurbriggen, who finished third behind Matt and teammate Marc Berthod. ''Even when we have bad races we are lucky, because when we don't have races its really bad.''
    Italy's Peter Fill, fastest in the downhill leg, was the 30th skier to start in the slalom and was thrown around like a rodeo rider. He finished 21st, 2.38 back.
    Bode Miller, the winner of Saturday's downhill, was the 29th skier to start the slalom and straddled an early gate after getting caught in the deep holes.
    ''I think Bode might have been adapting his skiing to the conditions,'' U.S. men's head coach Phil McNichol said. ''He still should have been able to finish, though, at least fifth. Still, I don't like to see a race like this because it wasn't about the fastest guy, but about starting positions and happenstance. The conditions were horrific.''
    Fill agreed that the conditions were unfair and said the slalom order should have changed.
    ''It wasn't a very correct race,'' Fill said. ''They should have reversed the top 15 because conditions were really unfair. It was impossible to win when you started 30 in the slalom.''
    FIS official Mike Kertesz said he received complaints after the race.
    ''The ones who didn't win complained,'' Kertesz told The Associated Press. ''Like any race where the conditions were difficult, they blamed the conditions. We did our best to make a professional race with what we had. Some racers are going to be happy, others aren't.''
    But Kertesz acknowledged that the late starters were seriously disadvantaged.
    "Of course the conditions weren't in their favor at the time they started,'' Kertesz said. ''Obviously they needed one heck of a run to make it in there.''
    McNichol questioned whether the race should have taken place.
    ''Wengen performed a real miracle with the downhill Saturday, getting the course in shape'' McNichol said. ''I don't like to see a classic venue like Wengen have such a fantastic downhill, then finish the week with people saying, 'This race sucked.'''
    McNichol noted the need to stage as many races as possible, with warm weather across Europe disrupting the World Cup calendar this season.
    ''We're held hostage to mother nature,'' he said. ''FIS, through its actions this season, has made it clear they want the safest conditions they can have, but they also want to produce the race at all costs.
    ''Fairness is not going to dictate a decision, this season.''
    Starting next week in Val d'Isere, France, the super-combi rules will change.
    In the future, rankings from the downhill will not change even if skiers withdraw. Those who finish outside the top 30 in the downhill will be forced to run after the top group in the slalom.
    Had those rules applied Sunday, Matt would have started the slalom in 30th position, on snow already used by 29 other skiers.