After the criticisms published in the Blick on the preparation of the Face de Bellevarde which would not have been up to standard last weekend according to a statement from the race director of Fischer, Ingrid Jacquemod, director of the Critérium de la Première neige has required to give his position.
We repeat it often enough, more than a slope, the Face de Bellevarde is a mountain with its specificity and a relief which makes it a fairly demanding slope in its approach for the gladiators of the White Circus as for its preparation. The bad weather last weekend on the giant on Saturday and the declining visibility at the end of the slalom on Sunday made the racing conditions particularly complicated, a year after the cancellation of the slalom due to weather conditions having weakened the surface. .
Voglreiter warns of dangerous conditions
In this context, the BlickSwiss media, expressed doubts about the professionalism of the downstream teams for the preparation. “Once again, the lack of preparation of the Face de Bellevarde triggers heated discussions” explains the Blick in the preamble with a radical title: “Val d’Isère should no longer have World Cup races! »…By repeating remarks that would have been said by Siegfried Voglreiter, director of the alpine ski race at Fischer. The latter would not have been present in Val d'Isère this weekend. We remember that the Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen complained about the conditions of the Face during the giant before winning the Sunday slalom.
“Despite the low temperatures, the French did not achieve a compact track. The conditions were extremely dangerous. Since this track has often been in poor condition in recent years, I think that we should no longer allocate World Cup stages to Val d'Isère,” continued Siegfried Voglreiter, former World Cup slalom rider as in giant.
“Offering the best possible conditions to athletes remains our priority”
An outing which made Ingrid Jacquemod, director of the Val d'Isère sports club and the Critérium de la Première neige, react, who wrote to Fischer, the SRS and Markus Waldner, director of the Men's World Cup and who is entrusted to Ski Chrono.
In this letter sent on behalf of the club, she is surprised that such a judgment could have been made when its author was not present in Val d'Isère. She says she wants to understand the disappointment of Sigfried Volglreiter following the injury of one of his runners but she observes that Stefan Brennsteiner performed thanks to the quality of his skiing and in connection with the consequences of degraded visibility rather than 'a deteriorated track. She does not forget to praise the involvement and professionalism of the Critérium teams on a demanding track within a tight deadline with changing and unpredictable weather. “With a concern for improvement and every detail to offer the best possible conditions to athletes. Which remains our priority” concludes Ingrid Jacquemod.
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