SUN VALLEY, Idaho — The downhill races have been canceled due to high wind. The races had been delayed after overnight snow.“Wind’s a problem when you are jumping, especially when they are getting as much air as they were off that Frontier jump,” said Austin Savaria, an assistant coach with the men’s speed team. “A lot of things can go wrong with one big gust of wind.”The skiers are disappointed, he said.“It’s brutal for the team. It’s brutal for the whole community,” Savaria said. He coached for the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation before joining the U.S. team. “I mean, the effort these guys put in to make the conditions of the snow perfect. It can’t be any better. So to see some gust of wind cancel a race like that, it’s pretty tough for everyone.”A community of volunteers had helped beat back the effects of the overnight snowfall, with hundreds slipping the downhill course all through the night to keep it clear of snow. Some people reportedly slipped over 100,000 vertical feet in the effort. But unpredictable wind gusts were a whole ‘nother matter on Saturday afternoon.Ski team spokesperson Courtney Harkins said the downhill awards will be given to the athletes based on season standings. That puts Lauren Macuga, of Park City, in fourth for the season and just off the podium. The season World Cup downhill leaders for the women are Federica Brignone of Italy in first with 384 points, Cornelia Huetter of Austria second with 368, and Sofia Goggia of Italy in third with 350. Macuga has 230.For the men, it’s Marco Odermatt of Switzerland leading the way with 606 points, Franjo von Allmen of Switzerland in second with 522, and Alexis Monney of Switzerland in third with 327.Sunday looks like a good day for the Super-G, however. Workers will prep the course and get it ready.“It should be good to go tomorrow,” Savaria said.This is the starting gate for the Super-G course at Sun Valley.Credit: Michael Ritucci/For The Park RecordCredit: Michael Ritucci/For The Park RecordCredit: Michael Ritucci/For The Park Record…SUN VALLEY, Idaho — High winds have delayed the downhill races a half hour, so far. Organizers announced the downhill will start lower on the mountain at the Super-G position, a couple of hundred feet below the normal downhill starting gate.The crowds are gathering in Sun Valley for the first downhill World Cup Finals race in the United States since 2017.….SUN VALLEY, Idaho — Overnight snowfall has delayed the downhill races Saturday to the afternoon.The men’s new start time is 2 p.m., and the women’s is 3 p.m.The FIS World Cup finals will be underway Saturday afternoon at Sun Valley. Skiers and snowcats packed the downhill course, Challenger, Saturday morning after several inches of springtime snow blanketed the course overnight. Credit: David Jackson/Park RecordThe forecast is for flurries until 10 a.m., then windy with gusts up to 26 mph. Two to three inches of snow are expected for Saturday.Under the revised program:Men’s jury inspection: 11 a.m. Men’s race inspection: 11:30-12:15 Women’s race inspection: Noon to 1 p.m. Men’s start time: 2 p.m. Women’s start time: 3 p.m. The FIS World Cup finals will be underway saturday afternoon at Sun Valley. Skiers scrapping the downhill course, Challenger, Saturday morning after several inches of springtime snow blanketed the course overnight. Credit: David Jackson/Park Record …SUN VALLEY, Idaho — The 25 best men and women alpine skiers on the planet were poised Friday evening to race this weekend and into next week, drawing bib numbers in an evening ceremony for the first races. The FIS World Cup Finals have arrived at last to Sun Valley’s Bald Mountain on a run named Challenger, which was reshaped this past summer specifically for this event. Saturday is downhill day, with the Super-G running Sunday. The downhill version of the course stretches nearly 7,500 feet with a vertical drop of 2,736 feet. The men begin at 11 a.m., followed by the women at 12:30 p.m.The U.S. women’s speed team will put forth Parkites Lauren Macuga and Lindsey Vonn, Wyoming native and Rowmark Ski Academy alum Breezy Johnson and Portland, Oregon, native Jacqueline Wiles. On the men’s side, Burlington, Vermont, native Ryan Cochran-Siegle and Bryce Bennett of Truckee, California, will compete in the downhill and Super-G.This will be the first time the “Super Bowl” of alpine skiing on US soil since 2017, when Aspen Mountain was the host venue. Last year the event was held at Saalbach-Hinterglem, Austria.The resort was awarded the event in the spring of 2024. They broke ground on July 1 to begin sculpting an all-new venue for the World Cup Finals. In addition to moving earth, they also added safety netting, 34 new snow guns, a new digital timing system, and removed many trees. In the words of the editorial board of Sun Valley’s Mountain Express: “The area hasn’t hosted anything like this since 1975, when pencil-thin long skis were the order of the day.”The World Cup Finals are the culmination of six months of worldwide travel week in, and week out. The current overall standings have Marco Odermatt of Switzerland leading the men and countrywoman Lara Gut-Behrami at the top of the women’s standings.Friday night brought hundreds of fans to the storied Swan Valley Ice rink to watch the bib draw. The top 10 skiers selected their bib numbers by a random draw for Saturday. Macuga drew No. 13, and Breezy Johnson 11. Later in the evening, the remaining U.S. skiers were assigned their bibs. Jacqueline Wiles got 16 and Lindsey Vonn will start in position 19.Dressed in a red, white and blue sweater Parkite Lauren Macuga learned that she will be wearing bib #13 Saturday afternoon in the women’s downhill at the World Cup final. Credit: David Jackson/Park RecordThe two U.S. men’s skiers, Ryan Cochran-Siegle and Bryce Bennett, will start 17th and 18th.Thousands gathered around the Sun Valley ice rink on the back side of the Sun Valley Lodge for the bib-draw ceremony friday night. Credit: David Jackson/Park RecordThe post World Cup Finals downhill races both canceled; season leaders will get the wins, leaving Macuga in fourth off the podium appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less