Avon, CO – A skier protest over what they deemed unsafe course conditions scrapped the first day of downhill training Tuesday at the Birds of Prey World Cup stop at Beaver Creek Resort in Colorado.
Led by American ski racer Bode Miller, who acted as the athletes’ representative, competitors expressed concerns about a roll between the super G start and the course’s Pumphouse section that would easily propel skiers off course and into the A-netting. After once delaying Tuesday’s training, event organizers eventually called it off after it became clear that it would require bigger machinery to reduce the size of the roll.
Work was completed to modify the course in time for today’s scheduled training run. International Ski Federation (FIS) rules require the completion of two training runs before holding a World Cup downhill.