Schoenfelder Reinstated as Slalom Runner-Up
Mon Dec 1, 7:35 AM ET, Reuters

 
LONDON (Reuters) - Austrian Rainer Schoenfelder was reinstated as the runner-up of the first men's slalom of the Alpine ski World Cup season, eight days after the race ended in controversy.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) said Monday it had decided to uphold an Austrian protest against Schoenfelder's disqualification by the race jury in Park City, Utah, on November 23.

Schoenfelder had skied out near the bottom of the first leg of the slalom and protested that he had been distracted by an injured course marshal lying on the snow close to the racing line.

Allowed to restart, he set the joint fastest time for the leg with World Cup slalom champion Kalle Palander of Finland.

After the second leg, Schoenfelder finished second, just 0.02 seconds behind winner Palander.

But he was disqualified after several teams lodged official protests, saying the Austrian had been given an unfair advantage.

His disqualification elevated his team mate Manfred Pranger to second place and Italian Giorgio Rocca to third.

The Austrian team complained and Monday the FIS upheld their appeal, saying in a statement from its Swiss headquarters that, under its rules, "the competition jury was not the competent body to deal with a protest about a decision that it had itself taken."

Schoenfelder's reinstatement will move him up to second in the World Cup slalom standings and into the top 12 in the overall list.

The FIS said it would issue revised race results and World Cup standings later Monday.

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Val D'Isere Men's Downhill Postponed
Wed Dec 3,11:51 AM ET, Reuters

VAL D'ISERE, France (Reuters) - A men's Alpine skiing World Cup downhill scheduled for December 13 has been called off because of a lack of snow in Val d'Isere, organizers said on Wednesday.

The race could be rescheduled for Vail, Colorado this Friday before a downhill due to be held Saturday and a super-G on Sunday.

Jean-Claude Fritsch, head of the Val d'Isere sporting club, said a decision on the Val d'Isere giant slalom, scheduled for December 14, would be taken Sunday but the chances of it going ahead were slim.

Depending on the weather, the French resort could host a downhill and a super-G scheduled for Val Gardena in Italy on December 19 and 20.

Organizers in Val Gardena said, however, that snow was falling and more was forecast in the next few days.

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Beaver Creek Gets French Downhill
Wed Dec 3,10:26 PM ET , Reuters

By Steve Keating

BEAVER CREEK, Colorado (Reuters) - A men's Alpine skiing World Cup downhill scheduled for next week in Val d'Isere was moved by officials on Wednesday to Beaver Creek due to a lack of snow at the French resort.

Originally set for December 13, the Val d'Isere race will now be run on Friday, becoming part of the Beaver Creek program which was already scheduled to stage a downhill on Saturday and a super-G on Sunday.

A men's giant slalom planned for Val d'Isere on December 14 is also likely to be postponed as unseasonably warm weather in Europe threatens to create havoc for the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Jean-Claude Fritsch, head of the Val d'Isere sporting club, told reporters that a decision on the men's giant slalom would be taken on Sunday but the chances of it going ahead were slim.

Skiers face an uncertain schedule as the World Cup circuit gets set to shift back to Europe following races this weekend in the U.S. and Lake Louise, Canada, where the women will also hope to run a double downhill and super-G.

FIS race director Gunther Hujara said a women's World Cup slalom in Vratna, Slovakia on December 11 and a women's slalom and giant slalom in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic on December 13-14 were under threat, as well as a men's downhill and super-G in Val Gardena, Italy on December 19-20.

VERY WARM

"We went forward and backward all night," said Hujara on the decision to move the men's downhill to Beaver Creek. "Right now we have no guarantee for a race in Europe.

"It is very warm in Italy right now, and too much humidity...it eats the snow. They have announced that it will get colder over the weekend but with no precipitation, so we will have to wait."

Although weather conditions were ideal at Beaver Creek on Wednesday there was no training as racers woke up to find their skis had not yet arrived from Lake Louise.

With tight security at border crossings between Canada and the United States, the truck transporting equipment was held up for 19 hours by customs officials because of discrepancies in paper work.

The revised schedule will allow competitors one training run on Thursday.

There has only been one downhill staged so far this season, world champion Michael Walchhofer of Austria winning in Lake Louise last weekend.

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Italy Protests Park City Slalom Result
Thu Dec 4, 1:34 PM ET, Reuters

LAKE LOUISE, Canada (Reuters) - Austrian Rainer Schoenfelder's controversial second place in the opening men's slalom of the Alpine ski World Cup season was again thrown into doubt Thursday after Italy protested the result.

The Italian Ski Federation said that they had made an official protest seeking Schoenfelder's disqualification after he was allowed to re-start the first run of the Park City slalom on November 23.

The Austrian, who skied out near the bottom of the first leg, said that he had been distracted by an injured course marshal lying on the snow close to the racing line.

Schoenfelder finished 0.02 seconds behind Finland's Kalle Palander in the race but was disqualified after several teams lodged protests.

The disqualification elevated team mate Manfred Pranger to second place with Italian Giorgio Rocca third.

However, the International Ski Federation (FIS) Monday upheld an Austrian protest and reinstated Schoenfelder.