Final World Cup downhills cancelled

LENZERHEIDE: Poor weather conditions in Lenzerheide have put paid to Wednesday's closing World Cup downhills, the International Ski Federation (FIS) announced.

"Due to continuous snowfall and the current situation the jury, in agreement with organisers Swiss Ski and all concerned parties, have decided to cancel" the final downhills of the season, the FIS announced.

With both training runs on Monday and Tuesday unable to be staged organisers had hoped to slot in an obligatory training session early Wednesday, but that proved impossible in the conditions.

The cancellation left Switzerland's Beat Feuz to claim his fourth consecutive men's downhill title with Italian Sofia Goggia, who missed last month's world championships on home snow in Cortina d'Ampezzo with a knee injury, taking her second women's downhill crown after 2018.

In the hunt for overall honours, Alexis Pinturault of France holds a 31-point lead over Marco Odermatt, with Slovak Petra Vlhova enjoying a 96-point cushion over Lara Gut-Behrami. Skiers gain 100 points for a victory.

Both Odermatt and Gut-Behrami were favoured to pick up points on the respective overall leaders in the speed discipline.

"It's important to be in the lead because these final events are never replaced," Pinturault said, adding that weather-enforced cancellations were "part of our sport".

There are three races of the season to come this week in the Swiss ski resort - a super-G on Thursday, followed by a giant slalom and slalom - weather permitting.

Gut-Behrami has already bagged the women's super-G globe, while Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr has an 83-point lead over Odermatt, meaning a 14th place or better would ensure he claims the men's title.

For Odermatt to claim the first globe of his career, he would have to win and hope that Kriechmayr came 15th or lower.