Ski Racing: Kitzbühel is Cancelled!

The world famous downhill race at the Hahnenkamm in Kitzbühel, Austria, was canceled this year due to global warming. Skiers are still trying to race down slushy hills and make the best of a diminished World Cup season. Americans Julia Mancuso and Bode Miller are both in podium position with only a few races left. (Please, excuse my US-centric reporting, but I do love Bode Miller.)

• The official FIS World CUp website features the women’s Alpine standings. Austrian Malies Schild, a slalom-specialist, leads the way. Mancuso is in 3rd overall, 2nd in downhill, 3rd in combined, and 4th in the GS and Super-G.
• As for the men, Aksel Lund Svindel, who finished second overall last year, sits in the top spot. Miller is in 3rd place, but he has yet to collect any points in slalom. With the weather killing all the speed events, he’s going to have to turn that around to stay on the podium.

• For World Cup newcomers, Wikipedia gives you the basic point structure.

• Ski Racing magazine provides all kinds of skiing news, including a piece on the Hahnenkamm disaster and a bunch of goofy videos.

• US skier Ted Ligety also chimes in on the Kitzbühel cancellation in The Denver Post.

• The Kitzbühel downhill is one of many races postponed this year because of weather. There have been several more since this piece.

• After recovering from hip surgery, Olympic champion Julia Mancuso has had an amazing few weeks, including five straight podiums, as the AP reports (in the IHT).

• Mancuso has her own website.

• The New York Times often has interesting skiing pieces by Nathaniel Vinton, like this one on women’s ski jumping.

• Look to TSN for a Canadian take on skiing.

• If you’re looking for stats and facts from the past and present, check out the Alpine Skiing Database.