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SKIING

Sweden’s André Myhrer wins World Cup slalom

Sweden's André Myhrer won the opening slalom of the men's World Cup season in Levi, Finland on Sunday.

Sweden's André Myhrer wins World Cup slalom

With a time of 1 min 49.55 sec over two rounds, Myhrer finished ahead of two Austrians, Marcel Hirscher, .06sec behind, and Jens Byggmark at .61sec off the lead.

The top three had finished in the same order after the first round.

Myhrer, 29, last season’s slalom World Cup winner, picked up his fifth success on the circuit on what proved to be a fast piste.

“The conditions were a little more difficult on the second run, but I just tried to ski my best,” Myhrer said.

He continued his winning run of last season, notching up his third success in a row over the two campaigns and he commented: “I was only taking a break.

I rested up as I had a bit of a bad back last year, but it’s all right now and I’ve trained well this summer.

“There are still a few more races to go before Schladming (the world championships in February next year), but obviously that’s going to be the big target for this season.”

Overall World Cup winner Hirscher is already off to a flying start, with two podium finishes in as many races, having taken third place in the giant slalom in Solden, Austria, a fortnight ago.

Hirscher said: “Achieving that in Levi is something special for me. It will be good to race on a different piste because I’ve had enough of this humidity and damp now.”

Italy’s Manfred Molgg, second in Solden, underlined his return to form with a fourth-place finish, narrowly ahead of fellow-Italian Patrick Thaler.

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SKIING

Snow report: What’s the latest outlook for French ski resorts this winter?

Good news for skiers in France, as a mild December has given way to a cold blast in early January that's bringing some much-needed snow.

Snow report: What's the latest outlook for French ski resorts this winter?

After a mostly dry and mild December, snow returned to the the Pyrenees on Friday.

Meanwhile most resorts in the Alps have been able to stay open after a promising early start to the ski season, thanks to fresh snowfalls, with more on the way this weekend.

Pyrenees

Snow has returned in the Pyrenees. Some 5cm fell overnight into Friday, January 5th in eastern parts of the mountain range, with forecasts predicting a further 15cm to 20cm to be on the ground 24 hours later. The region had not seen any snow since December 2nd.

In Angles, 20cm of snow had fallen at higher altitudes by mid-morning on Friday.

Further west, numerous resorts in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département remained closed this week after early December snow had melted in mild conditions that have dominated France in recent weeks, but significant snowfall is expected over the weekend into Monday, and resorts are hoping that they will see enough to open.

One resort, Artouste, has been unable to offer skiing since the start of the season on December 23rd due to a lack of snow. A scenic rail service – usually reserved for warmer months – has kept the resort going. It is set to stop running on Friday, amid expectations of enough snow to finally open the slopes.

READ ALSO Climate crisis: ’90 percent’ of Europe’s ski resorts face critical snow shortages

Alps 

Many ski resorts opened on time, or even a little earlier than scheduled last month, after significant early snow fall, and have enjoyed deposits in the first days of 2024. But, even here, resort managers welcomed the promise of more significant snow this weekend.

Some resorts weren’t so fortunate. Ski areas in Gérardmer, in the Vosges, were still closed in the week leading up to Christmas because of poor snow conditions, but they are hoping for enough snow to finally get started this weekend, while La Bresse-Honeck was using ‘stocked snow’ made by using snow that fell earlier in the winter months to stay open as recently as December 30th.

In the Northern Alps, resorts such as Alpe d’Huez benefited from fresh snowfall on December 22nd, while Val d’Isère had new snow on December 29th. In the Southern Alps, Les Orres’ last pre-New Year snow was on December 8th.

And the French Alps have enjoyed more snow since the start of the year. There’s at least 50cm of fresh snow on the higher slopes of Les Gets and Morzine, for example, a significant improvement on the same time last year, when the resorts were among several that had very little snow to speak of.

In Chamonix, meanwhile, snow has fallen on eight of the last 14 days, with more expected every day between Friday and Monday.

Massif Central

As the post on X / Twitter shows, the Massif Central has not had the best of winters for snow so far. But between 30cm and 50cm is expected in Le Lioran by Monday. 

READ ALSO ‘So many barriers since Brexit’: The French ski businesses no longer willing to hire Brits

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