Lake Louise, Panorama races confirmed by FIS

The International Ski Federatiom has confirmed the Lake Louise World Cup, presented by Bombardier, following Saturday's snow control. A men's downhill is set for Saturday, Nov. 24, and a men's super G on Sunday, Nov. 25, at the Alberta resort.
    The FIS also has given the green light for the women's World Cup races Nov. 24-25 at Panorama, British Columbia. A giant slalom on Nov. 24 will be followed by a slalom Nov. 25.

THE INTERNATIONAL SKI FEDERATION has confirmed the Lake Louise World Cup, presented by Bombardier, following Saturday's snow control. A men's downhill is set for Saturday, Nov. 24, and a men's super G on Sunday, Nov. 25, at the Alberta resort.
    The FIS also has given the green light for the women's World Cup races Nov. 24-25 at Panorama, British Columbia. A giant slalom on Nov. 24 will be followed by a slalom Nov. 25.
   Preparations are proceeding as planned for the earliest start ever to World Cup races in Lake Louise after the course inspection by FIS technical experts.
    “The course is being constructed thanks to the hard work of our volunteers and the efforts of dedicated staff at the Lake Louise Mountain Resort despite challenging weather conditions,” said John Cassels, Alpine Canada Alpin director of World Cup events, earlier this week. “A lot more work remains but we are as committed as ever to making the Bombardier presents Lake Louise Winterstart World Cup one of the best ski racing events in the world.”
     Almost 30 centimeters of new snow has fallen at the top of the mountain in the last week according to Web reports, creating quality early season conditions, with more snow in the forecast.
    CBC will televise the opening men’s speed races of the World Cup season starting on Nov. 24. The Lake Louise races also are expected to reach more than 140 million viewers worldwide with the international networks that attend.
    Lake Louise, which first hosted a World Cup race in 1980, saw three Canadians find the podium last year to launch a record-breaking season for Alpine Canada Alpin and the country’s national team racers.
    Manuel Osborne-Paradis got it started with silver in the men’s downhill. John Kucera followed by becoming the first Canadian male to win a men’s super G race on home soil. Kelly VanderBeek then earned the first World Cup podium of her career, finishing third in the women’s super G.
    Lake Louise is the first resort outside of Europe ever to be named to the prestigious Club 5+, the organization that brings together the most famous and historic World Cup alpine racing courses in the world.