Ski: bad weather stops the white circus, competitions canceled

From one side of the Alps to the other, bad weather has completely paralyzed the tried and tested organizational machine of the white circus. In Bormio, a lot of snow and even fog forced the cancellation of the super-G men on the grueling Stelvio slope: it is impossible to properly clean up the escape routes that are essential when traveling at more than 100 km / h and it is unthinkable to have the helicopter fly up in case of accident. In Semmering, Austria, a real windstorm even canceled the second round of the women's giant slalom after the first, albeit with some annoying gusts, was completed with the Slovak Petra Vhlova at the command and the blue Marta Bassino to tamp her closely in second position. For a while - delaying the start of the race and lowering the start with a shortening of the track - the organizers hoped to complete this giant anyway. But then - among the whirls of snow, advertising billboards and protective mattresses flying away, the gondola blocked - even the Austrians had to acknowledge that there was nothing to do but cancel the test. Then began the ballet of hypotheses on how to recover the breakdowns of bad weather. In Bormio everything was immediately clear: tomorrow super-G and, by extending the athletes' stay in Valtellina, where Covid causes, there is certainly no problem of crowding the hotels for New Year's Eve, on Wednesday the descent that was scheduled for Monday but had already undergone a wise shift forward. In Semmering, on the other hand - since in Austria skiing is sacred and not even lockdowm prevents the practice of this sport, much less during the holidays - at first it was thought to force the girls of the white circus to overwork. And that is by having the missing giant round take place tomorrow morning to then move on to the already planned afternoon special slalom. In the end, however, it was decided to definitively cancel the giant to reprogram it - it should be said - at better times. So tomorrow in Austria there will be only the special slalom, the last women's race of 2020. First round at 15.15 and second at 18.30.