The decision was made at the FIS congress: the team combination was removed from the ski calendar again

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It was on the World Cup calendar for next winter, but is now being removed again: the team combination. “It doesn’t work that way,” says Michael Huber. The OC chairman of Kitzbühel, where the men were to ride the new event, is withdrawing the race. “We are interested in implementing it in 2025. But first everyone must think about it to arrive at a fair mode.” The objection was approved at the FIS Congress.

What is the background? The team combination, in which a speed specialist and a slalom skier form a team, caused many athletes to shake their heads – also because the World Cup points achieved would also have counted for the discipline classification and the overall World Cup. Athletes such as the Greek slalom star AJ Ginnis and the Slovakian zigzag star Petra Vlhova would not have had a chance because they would not have found a partner in their associations.

Crans-Montana also does without it

130 racers competed against the mode at the FIS – including top players such as Mikaela Shiffrin (USA), Sofia Goggia (It), Vincent Kriechmayr (Austria) and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (Nee). “It is true that I have spoken out in favor of including the team combination on the World Cup calendar. But it is not true that we, drivers, have worked out the regulations. I was never asked about the scoring,” says slalom hero Daniel Yule.

The FIS ultimately refuses. But she definitely doesn’t want to bury the team combination. Also because at the 2026 Olympic Games there are two sets of medals at stake – you definitely don’t want to lose them, since the parallel races have already been removed from the Olympic program. “We join Huber and also withdraw the team combination,” said Hugo Steinegger, OC Vice President of the races in Crans-Montana. On the Valais plateau, the women skiers celebrated their baptism of fire in the new discipline.

“It was not thought through until the end”

“We have already reserved an entire hotel for the slalom skiers, but fully understand the objection. The team combination was a quick sketch that was not thought through until the end.” According to Steinegger, they hope to have another descent in addition to the planned descent and the Super-G.

Source : Blick