Thawing, higher temperatures, even rain. In Kranjska Gora, there are supposed to be some problems with the snow surface for the Vitranc Cup matches this weekend, but the manager of the competition, Janez Šmitek, calmly points out: “The probability that the matches would not be held is very small.”
Considering that it has warmed up a lot in the last few days, rumors have started that the Alpine skiers’ race for the Vitranc Cup may be dropped this weekend. The mercury in Kranjska Gora rose well above zero during the day in recent days, and on Thursday it was even 16 degrees Celsius.
Can the thaw and the resulting poorer snow surface affect the World Cup races in which four Slovenian skiers will compete Žan Kranjec, Stefan Hadalin, Azhnoh deadline and Ange Gartner? We asked Janez Šmitek, manager of the Vitranc Cup competition, for his opinion.
“I’ve been here every day in the field for two months. I’m in the beautiful sun, I’m looking at Podkoren below me, it’s winter and it’s beautiful. It’s true that it’s warm, the temperature is around 11 degrees Celsius, but now the radiation (snow drying, op. a ,) is already working,” he said for MMC Janez Šmitekhead of the competition, and added: “If tonight is clear, the snow bed will be concrete tomorrow.”
At the same time, he explained that a clear night is actually the most important for the snow base. “Clarity is almost more important than zero (0 °C). The earth emits a long wave, and if the night is clear, i.e. the wave does not reflect back from the clouds, everything will be fine. In fact, the last week we had the most problems because of the snow , which applied it twice in the upper part. This is the worst,” said Šmitek and emphasized: “The probability that the match would not be held this weekend is very small.”
Startna lista (9.30/12.30) 1 L. MEILLARD ŠVI 2 Ž. KRANJEC SLO 3 M. ODERMATT ŠVI 4 M. SCHWARZ AVT 5 L. BRAATHEN NOR 6 H. KRISTOFFERSEN NOR 7 A. PINTURAULT FRA 8 G. CAVIEZEL ŠVI 9 F. DELLA VITE ITA 10 F. ZUBČIĆ HRV 11 R. RADAMUS ZDA 12 R. HAASER AVT 13 S. BRENNSTEINER AVT 14 R. WINDINGSTAD NOR 15 M. FELLER AVT 44 S. HADALIN SLO 62 A. GARTNER SLO 63 R. AŽNOH SLO
Kranjec: We trained both startsOut of the four Slovenians, Kranjec, who is currently the third giant slalomist in the total of the discipline, will have the best starting point in both giant slaloms. In the USA, Kranjec’s oversized helmet, which hindered him during the rides, was an additional problem. In Kranjska Gora, he will wear the old helmet with which he won the silver medal at the Olympic Games in China last year. Kranjac is not even worried by the announcement that Saturday’s giant slalom could start from a lower start due to the conditions. “If I drive really well, as I know how, I can be good both from the top and from the reserve start. We trained both starts,” said Kranjec, the first Slovenian giant slalom violinist.
The Vitranc Cup will start with the first giant slalom on Saturday, and end with the Sunday test in the same discipline. The first races are scheduled at 9:30 a.m., the final at 12:30 p.m. You will be able to watch the event live on TV SLO 2 and on MMC.
Source: Rtvslo
