KITZBUEHEL 2005: Weather forces super G cancelled

KITZBUEHEL 2005: Weather forces super G cancelled{mosimage}The World Cup super G at Kitzbuehel was cancelled early this morning as a result of the snowstorm that is blanketing the classic Austrian venue. “Now all foces concentrate on the preparation of the slopes for tomorrow’s downhill race,” said organizers in an official statement.

Snow and sleet began falling on the notoriously difficult Streif course yesterday afternoon, and continued through the night. Because of bad weather, the gondola accessing the course couldn’t be used overnight to deliver course crews — many of them from the Austrian army — to the top of the course.

The cancellation is good news for American Daron Rahlves, who is steadily recovering from the injuries that kept him sidelined last week. But it represents a missed opportunity for Steve Nyman and Wade Bishop, two young Americans who were on the start list with bibs number 48 and 53, respectively.

On Thursday night, many top racers participated in a FIS race at Westendorf, not far from Kitzbuehel. The night slalom there is often scheduled in the days just before the Kitzbuehel World Cups, and the top slalom skiers in the world often enter it as a warm-up.

This year’s winner at Westendorf was Kalle Palander of Finland, who will try on Sunday to become the first racer since the great Ingemar Stenmark to win the Kitzbuehel slalom three years in a row. Palander won by 0.77 over Markus Larsson of Sweden. Park City’s Ted Ligety was third, and James Cochran was ninth. Bode Miller foreran the race, opting not to officially enter because of a FIS rule against entering two competitions within 24 hours.