Because of World Cup problems? – Ski cracks are not allowed to train in Zermatt this summer – Sport

Elite ski teams will no longer find training slopes in Zermatt this summer. This was announced by the mountain railways in the Valais ski area.

Ski stars Marco Odermatt, Lara Gut and Co. will not be able to train on the glacier in Zermatt next summer. The mountain railways in the Valais ski area are suspending training for elite athletes in all snow sports.

The background to this decision is likely to be the removal of Zermatt as the organizer of the World Cup downhill races. In mid-March, the World Ski Association and the organizers announced that the World Cup races in Zermatt/Cervinia would not be included in the FIS calendar in the coming ski season. Athletes campaigned for a waiver after 8 unsuccessful attempts within 2 years to hold a World Cup race. So it’s quite possible that it’s a return coach.

The situation will be reassessed in 2025

Franz Julen, chairman of the Zermatt mountain railways and head of the organizing committee for the World Cup races, denies any resentment towards SRF: “No, it’s not a tit-for-tat. It is a consistent stance from the developments of the last few months. We were ready to provide training conditions and conduct races for the top athletes. This offer was not accepted.”

“We now have the right, just like the FIS and the other associations, to take stock of the situation and to analyze and reassess the matter in order to then find a solution,” says Julen. The situation will be reassessed in 2025.

Training is a losing proposition

Financial reasons would not have played a role. The training is a losing proposition anyway, whether it is open to the (international) elite or only to local young talent. However, the promotion of the “stars of tomorrow” continues. A number of glacier training slopes are made available exclusively to youngsters.

Free skiing on natural snow in the summer also experiences “a comprehensive increase in attractiveness,” according to a press release from the Zermatt mountain railways. In the future, they want to focus on national and international guests.