The World Cup in downhill skiing is coming to big changes. Combined races should return to the prestigious series, but in a new form. Instead of slalom with downhill or super-G, according to the Swiss newspaper Blick, separate speed and technical disciplines will be combined. There should be exactly five such races in the calendar.
According to the proposal, the combination of downhill and men’s super-giant slalom should host Kitzbühel, Wengen and Val Gardena. Women should complete them in St. Anthony, St. Moritz and Cortina d’Ampezzo. Combinations in technical disciplines are planned in Val d’Isere, Alta Badia or Adelboden for men and in Semmering, Killington or Sestriere for women.
According to Blick, the calendar for next season was still not approved, because last year the head of the international FIS federation, Johan Eliasch, ran into resistance with some of the proposed innovations.
A new American stop at Palisades Tahoe should be added to the men’s series, where the race should take place at the end of February. After the traditional December races in Lake Louise, Canada, and Beaver Creek, Colorado, skiers will have another trip overseas.
The planning of the Ski Jumping World Cup complicates the autumn World Cup in Qatar. The FIS wants to avoid concurrence with a closely watched event so as not to lose spectators. Therefore, according to the APA and DPA agencies, the jumping series could start in Wisła, Poland, unusually early on November 5 and 6. It would jump on an artificial surface.
