High incidence: Flachau slalom moved to Schladming
On January 11th, the Alpine Ski World Cup would have hosted the women’s night slalom on the Hermann Maier World Cup route in Flachau. But after the exploding numbers in the winter sports region, the state of Salzburg and the organizing committee, in coordination with the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV), pulled the emergency brake and decided on Thursday against the night slalom.
LH: “Infection situation in Flachau too dramatic”
Because of the high CoV incidences in parts of Pongau, there had already been a question mark behind the hosting of the race in the past few days. “We did not make this decision easy for ourselves and examined the basics intensively with experts. In view of the dramatic infection situation in Flachau, we had no other choice. The health of the locals, the guests and the entire World Cup has priority, ”said Governor Haslauer (ÖVP).
Flachau mayor: “Unfortunately it has to be”
Flachau’s mayor Thomas Oberreiter (ÖVP) is also president of the organizing committee – the place is behind the decision, according to a broadcast on Thursday. “Unfortunately we have a lot of corona infections and a very high incidence. Although the courses are usually very mild and are discovered by the extensive test infrastructure in the area, we definitely do not want to endanger anyone, because health is the most important thing. We are already looking forward to a great race in 2023, ”said Oberreiter.
Rejection is an economic loss for companies
The cancellation of the race now represents an economic loss for numerous companies in the village. “The cancellation hits us brutally, we have very few, normal holidaymakers in the house because everything is geared towards the World Cup. Now we are de facto empty, ”says the Flachau hotelier Daniel Warter.
Schladming spring
The ÖSV started looking for a replacement venue on Thursday morning. ÖSV President Roswitha Stadlobere is optimistic that the Flachau Slalom will find another location in Austria. In the evening it was confirmed that Schladming would step in as the venue on the same day, i.e. on January 11th.
Zauchensee races take place: athletes in “bubble”
People have waited, but something like this comes as a surprise. “But we already had it in the back of our minds and imagined scenarios.” The women’s races in Zauchensee (Pongau) on January 15 and 16, however, will take place as planned: that was also decided on Thursday morning. “A World Cup race is basically a safe event. There is a safety concept that provides, among other things, that the athletes and the workers live in their own bladder. It is relatively unlikely to transmit infections to the outside world, ”says the Altenmarkt mayor, Rupert Winter (ÖVP).
High case numbers: “Flachau is currently a small town”
In view of the high incidence, the mayor of Flachau, Thomas Oberreiter (ÖVP), tried to calm down on Wednesday and emphasized that.
In fact, there are currently up to 16,000 people in the winter sports community with employees and holidaymakers. “We have a good 3,000 inhabitants, but currently there are 15,000 to 16,000 people in the village with guests and staff. We’re a small town at the moment, ”said Oberreiter.
High incidence: Land cancels Flachau slalom
The women’s night slalom in Flachau (Pongau) on January 11th was canceled on Thursday due to the high number of infections. After intensive deliberations, the country decided against the race. The 7-day incidence in Flachau is currently over 7,600.