Downhill race called off after cancellation of training run

KVITFJELL, Norway (AP) — Organizers have canceled the first of this weekend’s two men’s World Cup downhill races after the only scheduled training run on Thursday was called off because of strong winds.

Friday’s race has been replaced with another training run, necessary for the second downhill on Saturday. A race can take place only after at least one mandatory training session on the course.

Training was supposed to start at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT) but was postponed several times as gusts made a safe run impossible. It was cancelled as conditions failed to improve ahead of the latest possible start time of 1:30 p.m.

The canceled downhill on Friday was a replacement for the race that was wiped out by bad weather four weeks ago in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

The event’s program also includes a super-G on Sunday.