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SKIING

Italian skier wins World Cup downhill race

Italy's Elena Fanchini scored an upset win in the women's World Cup downhill at Cortina d'Ampezzo on Friday.

Italian skier wins World Cup downhill race
Elena Fanchini's only other World Cup success came nearly ten years ago at Lake Louise. Photo: Olivier Morin/AFP

The 29-year-old, whose only other World Cup success came nearly ten years ago at Lake Louise, timed 1 minute 9.53 seconds on the Olimpia delle Tofane piste with Canadian Larisa Yurkiw second 00.15secs slower, and Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany at 00.31secs.

American speed queen Lindsey Vonn, who had been out to get a record-equalling 62nd World Cup win, level with Austrian Anne-Marie Moser-Proell, could only place tenth in a time that was 00.88secs off the pace.

She will have two other chances to equal the record at Cortina over the weekend with a second downhill on Saturday and a super-G on Sunday.

Vonn, who came back from knee surgery to win back-to-back races at the start of the World Cup season, was unable to use her power over a course that was shortened by around 30 seconds due to fog up near the start.

"It just wasn't my day," said the 30-year-old American four-time World Cup winner. "It can only get better."

Vonn had been fastest in training on Thursday but she was not the only one of the favourites to find the going hard.

World Cup leader Tina Maze of Slovenia could only manage 13th place, while Austria's Anna Fenniger was fifth.

There was no such problems for Fanchini who said the previous evening she had watched a video of fellow Italian Isolde Kistner winning at Cortina in 2001.

"She was the last Italian to win a downhill at Cortina and I just tried to do the same as her.

"I have had so many injuries during my career. My knees and my shoulders are always painful but I am so passionate about skiing that I have never even considered stopping."

Despite having an off-day, Maze still managed to increase her lead atop the overall rankings. She currently has 877 points, 272 points ahead of second-placed, Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States.

SEE ALSO: Alpine skiing: Vonn chases record in Italy

Lindsey Vonn Vonn photo by Philippe Desmazes/AFP

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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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