The main topic is whether in times of global warming a winter sport season should still start as early as October.
In a season not interrupted by Olympics or world championships, the calendar includes the first cross-border downhills from Zermatt in Switzerland to Cervinia in Italy in November, which were canceled when they were first scheduled last year. Low altitude is not the problem in Soelden with its start at three kilometers above sea level — but enough snow is.
The organization posted an image of the Soelden track — a white stripe down the brown, rocky hill on a dark, rainy day — with the text “Move the date,” adding they “demand FIS move the race calendar to suit the climate.” “Soelden has never been a real winter race, it shouldn’t be. Soelden is the season opener, a wakeup call for the ski industry and the fans that we are starting again,” said Odermatt, who won the race in the past two years, and each time went on to win the overall title.“For me, one of the most important reasons is to have a call to action and for transparency and progress through this topic. It is so dear to us, winter is the most important thing in our sports,” the American said.
That includes last season, when she had 14 wins and gathered a personal best of 2,206 points, almost 1,000 points more than second-ranked Lara Gut Behrami. The Swiss skier, alongside Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova and Italy’s Federica Brignone, will likely be among Shiffrin’s closest challengers again.