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| Women's WCup training canceled because of winds (AP) | 06/01, 7:26 |
| The final training session for a women's World Cup downhill was canceled on Friday following an overnight storm. Fierce winds had blown away sections of the safety netting along the Kaernten-Franz Klammer course, and the winds were still too strong later Friday for a safe downhill run. The ruling FIS said it expected the race to go ahead as scheduled on Saturday. | |
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| Flu forces Hoefl-Riesch to skip speed races (AP) | 05/01, 14:32 |
| Defending overall World Cup champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany has pulled out of this weekend's speed races because of the flu. Her manager and husband Marcus Hoefl says on Twitter that doctors have told her not to train or race until Monday. On Thursday, Hoefl-Riesch started but did not finish her downhill training run on the Kaernten-Franz Klammer course in Austria because she felt ill. | |
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| Kirchgasser out for 3 weeks with knee injury (AP) | 04/01, 13:03 |
| Austrian skier Michaela Kirchgasser has been ruled out of the World Cup for three weeks after injuring her right knee in Tuesday's night slalom, where she came third for her first career podium result in the discipline. The Austrian ski federation says Kirchgasser's bruised knee will be treated through physiotherapy and does not need surgery. | |
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| Croatia's Kostelic eyes 1st win on home hill (AP) | 04/01, 7:49 |
| Defending overall World Cup champion Ivica Kostelic hopes this January will prove just as good as the last one, starting with a night slalom on his home hill on Thursday. The Croat won seven races and racked up 999 World Cup points in January last year, earning him an insurmountable lead in the overall standings. | |
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| Shiffrin under pressure after stunning ski result (AP) | 02/01, 13:09 |
| Mikaela Shiffrin suddenly faces an aspect of skiing altogether new to her -- handling pressure. The 16-year-old American had a remarkable third-place finish in a World Cup slalom last week. In only her eighth race on the circuit, Shiffrin was even faster than idol and world champion Marlies Schild in winning the second run in Lienz, Austria. | |
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| Austria's downhillers are in speed slump (AP) | 30/12/2011 13:01 |
| Austria's domination in the downhill stretches back nearly uninterrupted to the founding of the World Cup circuit in the late 1960s. Now, though, skiing's "Wunderteam" is facing a crisis in the speed disciplines it ruled for so long. With Michael Walchhofer's retirement at the end of last season, the Austrian men's team features only one racer who has ever won a World Cup... | |
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| US skier Schleper retires after 15 WCup seasons (AP) | 29/12/2011 3:43 |
| American skier Sarah Schleper produced her trademark roar at the start of a World Cup race for the last time, before leisurely skiing down the Hochstein course in a coffee-colored minidress, carrying a camera and picking up her 3-year-old son Lasse midway through her run. Schleper, who competed in four Winter Olympics, said Thursday's slalom was the last World Cup race of her career. | |
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| Motivation high for Bormio downhill racers (AP) | 28/12/2011 11:08 |
| Austria's Klaus Kroell goes into Thursday's knee-jarring downhill on the Stelvio course with memories of the fall that robbed him of a podium finish last year. American Marco Sullivan and Canadian Robbie Dixon are looking to rally from season-ending concussions from a year ago. For Adrien Theaux of France and Patrick Kueng of Switzerland, potential top-three finishes were wiped out when... | |
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| Motivation running high for Bormio downhill racers (AP) | 28/12/2011 10:58 |
| Austria's Klaus Kroell goes into Thursday's knee-jarring downhill on the Stelvio course with memories of the fall that robbed him of a podium finish last year. Canada's Robbie Dixon is looking to bounce back from the season-ending concussion he sustained here a year ago. For Adrien Theaux of France and Patrick Kueng of Switzerland, potential top-three finishes were wiped out when this... | |
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| Schild more dominant in slalom after injury (AP) | 27/12/2011 15:23 |
| Marlies Schild is dominating slalom races three years after a preseason crash broke her left leg. Schild was a contender for victories in all five World Cup disciplines, but the injury forced her to scrap the more physically demanding speed races and focus on technical events. Schild has been close to unstoppable in slalom, winning 12 of 20 races in the discipline after returning to the circuit in... | |
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