Paris (AFP)

The 2020/21 Alpine Skiing World Cup will not stop in North America in November and December as usual, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the International Ski Federation (FIS) announced on Thursday.

The two Canadian stages of Lake Louise (speed women and speed men), the American stage of Killington (technique women) and the American stage of Beaver Creek (speed and technique men), that is to say ten races in total programmed from November 25 to December 6, are partly recovered by the stations of Val d'Isère (France), Courchevel (France) and Saint Moritz (Switzerland).

"The temporary modification of the World Cup calendars meets the FIS objective of protecting the health of the athletes above all, reducing journeys and offering athletes a detailed competition calendar (as quickly as possible)" , notes the FIS in a press release.

"The races at the start of the season present unique logistical problems with the restrictions linked to the travel of people and quarantine measures on the outward and return journeys, which led to this decision", explains the director of the Coupe du male world Markus Waldner, quoted in the press release.

The start of the 2020/21 alpine ski season had already been brought forward by one week to October 17 and 18 with the traditional female and male giants on the Rettenbach glacier in Sölden (Austria), who must be held behind closed doors.

© 2020 AFP