Rough Start for Cortina 2021

(ATR) Organizers face challenges moving forward as the first three days of racing at the Alpine World Ski Championships in Cortina have been cancelled due to snowfall, fog, and uncooperative weather. As a result, slope conditions have deteriorated.

Race cancellations and rescheduling have become a domino effect for Cortina 2021. The men’s super-G, which was pushed back from Tuesday to Wednesday, following cancellation of Monday’s women’s Alpine Combined, has already been called off Tuesday afternoon with more precipitation expected on Wednesday.

Tuesday’s women’s super-G was cancelled after a 90-minute fog delay, and 45 minutes after the start was lowered to the Duca d’Aosta reserve start. Racers took their mid-morning course inspection amid a mix of sun and clouds, but dense fog seeped in near the top of the Olympia delle Tofana course shortly before the scheduled 1pm start time, pre-empting the race.

Considerable snow blanketed Cortina on Sunday evening, as the opening ceremony was ongoing, into Monday morning, in addition to accumulations over the days prior. The women’s Alpine Combined, which was slated to be the opening event was called off on Monday morning.

"In the last few days up to 80 centimeters [2.62 feet] of snow had fallen at high altitude," said Cortina 2021 race director Alberto Ghezze. "If it had stopped we would have been able to prepare the slope, but it continued and we had to cancel for safety reasons."

Prior to the morning cancellation, race organizers had flip-flopped the super-G and slalom disciplines, with the slalom moved up to be contested first. The thought process was that the significantly faster super-G, which requires better visibility and snow conditions, would have a better chance of succeeding in the afternoon. Ultimately, neither took place.

"The latest snowfalls have forced us to get back on the track with the vehicles," Ghezze said. "The accumulation (of snow) is huge and the guys haven’t slept for two days while preparing the slopes,"

Mostly sunny skies are forecast for Thursday’s men’s and women’s super-Gs, although strong winds of 20-45 km/h (12-28 mph) and potential gusts at 2,000m (6,652 feet) could pose problems. The men’s super-G start on the untested Vertigine course sits at 2,200m (7,218 feet), although it could be lowered if required.

Weather in the Italian Dolomites is expected to finally stabilize, with falling temperatures, for Friday’s men’s and women’s downhill training runs and Saturday’s women’s downhill. All cancelled races have been rescheduled.

Most of the men have not competed in Cortina before as the men’s World Cup tour does not stop in the Italian resort and the 2020 FIS World Cup Finals, a test event for the championships, were cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The Cortina races are proceeding without any spectators on mountain or at the recently refurbished ski venue amid strict safety protocols, with all credentialed personnel being tested for COVID-19 every three days.

The championships are being viewed as an early prelude to the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic Winter Games. The two-week showcase event runs until Feb. 21.

Written and reported by Brian Pinelli in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy

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