Heavy snow at St. Moritz forces cancellation of Mikaela Shiffrin’s race in women’s World Cup

Track attendants attempt to clear the slope of an alpine ski, women’s World Cup super g race, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, yesterday

Heavy snowfall overnight forced the cancellation yesterday of a women’s World Cup super-G race where Mikaela Shiffrin was an expected strong contender.

The sunshine that bathed Shiffrin’s winning run in downhill Saturday on the Corviglia course at St. Moritz gave way to snow through the night and made preparing the course impossible.

The “drastic change of the slope condition” was cited by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation. “This decision was made in order to ensure the safety of the athletes.”

It was the third speed race canceled so far in a season of difficult weather conditions, after both scheduled downhills last month at the Matterhorn mountain on the Swiss-Italian border were lost to heavy snow and strong winds.

The races can be made up at different venues later in the season.

The women’s World Cup circuit now moves to Val d’Isere, France, for downhill and super-G races next weekend. The storied resort had to cancel it’s men’s slalom Sunday because of snow and rain overnight. MDT/AP