Run it back: Aspen Mountain to host men’s Planet Cup skiing tech races in March 2024

Fans cheer from the bottom of the men’s downhill course on Friday, March three, 2023, throughout the Aspen Planet Cup on Aspen Mountain.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Instances

Practice tends to make best, and Aspen Skiing Co. is excited to take what it discovered from this previous March’s Planet Cup races on Aspen Mountain into however a different weekend of elite skiing.

In social media posts by the International Ski Federation (FIS) on Thursday, it was revealed that Planet Cup ski racing will come back to Aspen for a second straight season, this time for men’s tech races on March two-three, 2024.

Prior to this previous winter’s Planet Cup races — men’s speed events — Aspen had not hosted that level of ski racing considering the fact that the 2017 Planet Cup Finals.

“Honestly, we felt the discomfort of taking six years off by attempting to spin this issue back up with quite brief notice,” mentioned longtime Skico executive John Rigney, who pulls a lot of of the strings behind the scenes to get the big skiing and snowboarding events to Aspen. “Even even though this year is fairly brief notice to officially get the word that we are on, the momentum we have from performing it this previous March will spend dividends going forward.”

The tech races — slalom and giant slalom — will bring a various group of skiers to Aspen than in March, when it hosted downhill and super-G races. Alternatively of speed stars like Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and Vincent Kriechmayr, who completed 1-two in the downhill standings this previous season, Aspen will most likely welcome names like Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen, who makes use of Aspen Highlands for coaching early every single season.

“We’ll get to see the other half of the tour by going with tech races as an alternative of speed,” Rigney mentioned. “This is the type of occasion that our complete town requires pride in so getting capable to count on it, at least for the subsequent year, not only is it excellent news, but it is a feather in the cap of every person who came out to assistance it.”

The lineup could potentially consist of 1 of Aspen’s personal in Bridger Gile. The 23-year-old neighborhood solution and U.S. ski group member sees the races as the ultimate motivator heading into subsequent season. He’s had a handful of Planet Cup begins more than his brief profession but hopes to grow to be a additional constant presence on the most important circuit.

“For the likelihood to have it back in Aspen, in my hometown, is most likely additional of a purpose to maintain going than the Olympics,” he mentioned. “Being additional of a tech skier rather than a speed skier, to have the chance or the likelihood to be capable to race a Planet Cup in my hometown, sleep in my personal bed, that is not even a thing I dreamed of. That is so out of this globe.”

Rigney mentioned the selection to host tech races as an alternative of speed subsequent winter comes largely from the greater ups at FIS, who face really the challenge every single year in placing collectively a fair, balanced race schedule. The 2024 cease in Aspen is element of a U.S. two-fer, as Palisades Tahoe is scheduled to host slalom and giant slalom races Feb. 24-25, the weekend just before these exact same racers come to Aspen.

Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde requires element in the Planet Cup bib draw on March two in Snowmass.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Instances

As has grow to be the norm, Beaver Creek will host men’s speed races Dec. 1-three, the only other U.S.-primarily based events on the men’s 2023-24 race calendar. Canada’s Lake Louise, extended an early-season haven for the women’s speed skiers, will host men’s speed races Nov. 25-26, a week just before Beaver Creek.

“It’s a multi-dimensional puzzle they are attempting to pull collectively,” Rigney mentioned. “It’s difficult. Frankly, we didn’t have any challenge with acquiring tech. I basically believe it is best on the heels of the speed occasion to get tech due to the fact you see the other side of the tour, and we all know tech races are super fascinating ideal down to the final racer each year. It will be enjoyable. I also believe we have 1 of the very best tech courses, 1 of the very best GS courses, in the globe. So to be capable to show that off is super enjoyable.”

According to the FIS archives, Aspen has not hosted men’s tech races — outside of the 2017 finals — since November 2001. That incorporated two slaloms, the initially won by Croatia’s Ivica Kostelic. In the second slalom a day later, American icon Bode Miller rallied to finish second in spite of wearing bib No. 54. Austria’s Mario Matt won the race.

Prior to the 2017 finals, Aspen had been a normal cease for women’s tech races for a lot of years. The highlight was seeing Vail’s Mikaela Shiffrin, who won the final non-finals women’s race on Aspen Mountain in November 2015. These races successfully moved to Killington, Vermont, which has grow to be a mainstay on the women’s calendar in current years.

Rigney mentioned Skico is excited to when once more have Planet Cup races occurring in Aspen’s spring, opposed to the darker, colder and possibly snowless early-season time frame.

“That race course on a stunning March day is going to be the spot to be,” he mentioned. “It functions definitely nicely. It is right after Presidents’ Week but just before spring break begins to ramp up. So, I believe it functions nicely on the calendar — not only for us, but for the broader lodging neighborhood.”

American Ryan Cochran-Siegle reaches the bottom of the course in the Aspen Planet Cup men’s downhill on March three at Aspen Mountain. The race was in the end canceled due to the climate.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Instances

This previous March, Aspen had been scheduled to host two downhills and 1 super-G more than 3 days, but the initially downhill was in the end canceled right after snowy situations produced it practically not possible to place on a fair race. Only 24 racers began just before it was known as off at least 30 need to have to compete for the race to be official.

It was smooth sailing right after that, with Norway’s Kilde — otherwise identified as Shiffrin’s boyfriend these days — winning Saturday’s downhill, and Swiss star Marco Odermatt winning Sunday’s super-G. Odermatt, who also competes in GS, was the all round Planet Cup champion this previous winter, followed by Kilde in second and Kristoffersen in third.

“It absolutely was a crusher to not get that initially downhill official outcome. But the rest of the weekend was merely amazing,” Rigney mentioned of March’s speed races. “The crews did a wonderful job. I can not underscore how complicated it is to spin a thing up right after possessing not accomplished it for six years. So I was definitely proud of the entire group for rallying to make it wonderful. And the crowds came out. The mood in town on that weekend is as excellent as it gets anytime of the year.”

The women’s Planet Cup calendar for 2023-24 only has 1 U.S. cease: the Killington races on Nov. 25-26. Canada’s Mont Tremblant has joined the schedule with two GS races Dec. two-three. The early-season women’s speed races that in current years have been in Lake Louise are headed to Zermatt and Cervinia on Nov. 18-19.

Saalbach, Austria, will host the Planet Cup Finals from March 22-24 for each males and girls.

This coming winter is the 1 season that happens each 4 years that does not consist of an Olympics nor a globe championship.

“Even when they announced the speed was coming back final year, I was super excited to have racing back,” Gile mentioned of Aspen’s Planet Cup return. “Super excited for that to come about. Speaking to folks right after the Planet Cup was right here final year, I believe folks have been stoked it was right here and a lot of folks came to watch it.”

acolbert@aspentimes.com