Published February 3, 2001 10:25AM
St. Anton, Austria Feb. 3, 2001 (AP)–Heavy snowfalls and high winds forced the organizers of the world championships to call off this weekend’s showcase downhill races.
The men’s downhill, slated for Saturday and featuring American sensation Daron Rahlves, was postponed until Tuesday. The women’s race, originally scheduled for Sunday, was also moved to Tuesday and will precede the men’s downhill.
In the original schedule, Tuesday was a non-race day in case of postponements.
The men’s combined event was left as planned for Monday.
An overnight snowstorm dumped more than a foot of fresh snow. Coupled with winds of up to 60 mph and snowdrifts of up to 3 feet on the upper part of the course, organizers said it was impossible to even operate the ski lifts.
The postponements of the weekend downhills was a severe blow to organizers, who were expecting about 40,000 fans for the glamor events of the championship.
Copyright © 2000 The Associated Press