USA plans 7 starters for Reiteralm slaloms

The alpine skiing World Cup competition in Levi, Finland, has been canceled due to the weather. The men’s and women’s slaloms — scheduled for next weekend — were canceled because of poor snow conditions and unfavorable forecasts, the International Ski Federation said in a statement on Sunday.
    Reiteralm, Austria, will now host the Levi races, the FIS announced later Sunday. The women's race will be Saturday, Nov. 10, and the men's race Sunday, Nov. 11, with first runs at 10 a.m. local time and second runs at 1 p.m. local time both days.

THE ALPINE SKIING World Cup competition in Levi, Finland, has been canceled due to the weather.
    The men’s and women’s slaloms — scheduled for next weekend — were canceled because of poor snow conditions and unfavorable forecasts, the International Ski Federation said in a statement on Sunday.
    Reiteralm, Austria, will now host the Levi races, the FIS announced later Sunday. The women's race will be Saturday, Nov. 10, and the men's race Sunday, Nov. 11, with first runs at 10 a.m. local time and second runs at 1 p.m. local time both days.
    The U.S. Ski Team plans to start Resi Stiegler and Lauren Ross Saturday in the slalom. Sunday, the USA will enter Ted Ligety, Jimmy Cochran, Tim Kelley, Cody Marshall and Bode Miller in the men's slalom.
    Miller, in his most recent online journal on WCSN.com, wrote, “If the race actually happens in Levi, we will get a few days of training. It looks like it might move down to central Europe, which is good for us so we can get some more productive training. It would be kick-ass if I got some productive skiing, but who knows.”
    Levi is situated north of the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland, and is the northernmost venue on the World Cup circuit.
    “We started using the snow guns two days ago, but the weather forecast for the coming days is not so favorable, we can’t guarantee perfect racing conditions for next weekend,” explained Janne Leskinnen, manager of the Finnish Ski Federation. “We all worked hard but the weather has been playing against us. It’s just too bad. It has not been so warm here in early November since the mid-1960s, it is amazing.”
    Reiteralm picked up races last season that Val d’Isere, France, could not host due to poor snow conditions.
    Last Dec. 15, Austrian women swept a Reiteralm super combi, with Marlies Schild topping Michaela Kirchgasser and Kathrin Zettel on the Gasselhoehe course. The next day in super G, Renate Goetschl won ahead of Nicole Hosp, with Swiss skier Martina Schild third.
    Ivica Kostelic won the men’s combined at Reiteralm last winter, ahead of Romed Baumann and Pierrick Bourgeat, while Ted Ligety turned in the second-fastest slalom run to move from 14th to a tie for fourth.