After the cancellation of Wengen races, two of the three races set to take place there were moved to Kitubühel. But the joy of two World Cup weekends with a total of five races in Kitzbühel only lasted for a short time. Today, the two Slaloms rescheduled for this weekend on the Ganslernhang racecourse have been moved to Flachau on the same dates. At the request of the Austrian government and the Tirol provincial government to provide more time to carry out the necessary tests to ensure a safe environment, the races were moved to Flachau, and will be held in the Hermann Maier racecourse.
"The two World Cup races taken over from Wengen have been canceled for safety reasons. This is a precautionary measure", Tirol's Governor Günther Platter said.
The rest of the scheduled races in Kitzbühel are currently set to go ahead as planned.
Flachau Program:
Slalom. Saturday, January 16th, 1st run 9:30, 2nd run 12:30 (CET)
Slalom. Sunday, January 17th, 1st run 10:30, 2nd run 13:45 (CET)
The first Men's World Cup races were held in Flachau in 1996. Italian ski star Alberto Tomba took second place behind the Swiss man Urs Kaelin in the Giant Slalom before winning the Slalom the day after. In this World Cup race, a new star appeared on the world cup horizon. A local skier from Flachau called Hermann Maier achieved great times as a forerunner in both runs in the GS. Which opened the door for him to the ÖSV European Cup Team and shortly afterward into the ÖSV World Cup team.
In 1999 the first Austrian won the Giant Slalom. Benjamin Raich beat the Swiss skier Michael von Grünigen, with local hero Hermann Maier in third place.
In March 2002 Flachau hosted the World Cup Finals together with Altenmarkt-Zauchensee. Both the Men's and Ladies Giant Slalom and Slalom races were held in 2 days in Flachau. Ivica Kostelic won the Slalom race and Michael Von Gruenigen the Giant Slalom.
In January 2004 Benjamin Reich won his second Giant Slalom in Flachau on the Hermann Maier World Cup racecourse. The Finn Kalle Palander won the Slalom.
In December 2004 Flachau hosted again two World Cup Events. Canadian Thomas Grandi won the Giant Slalom, and Italian Giorgio Rocca won the Slalom Race.
On January 10th, 2010, a night-race was held for the first time under the floodlights in Flachau. Marlies Schild won the race and was crowned the first "Snow Space Princess".
The last time the Men raced in the Hermann Maier slope was in December 2011. The canceled races in Levi (Finland) were rescheduled in Flachau. It was the first time since the World Cup Finals Flachau held both the Ladies and Men's competition in the same season. Just like in 2010 the Salzburgerin Marlies Schild won again. On the Men's side, Ivica Kostelic won for the second time in Flachau.
Marco Schwarz won the last slalom event in the World Cup, in Adelboden on January 10th. Schwarz became the fourth different winner of the four slalom events so far this World Cup season.
Linus Straßer won the event in Zagreb and finished second in Adelboden.
Henrik Kristoffersen won this season's Slalom event in Madonna di Campiglio.
Ramon Zenhaeusern wins the first Slalom of the Season in Alta Badia.
Manuel Feller has achieved five World Cup podiums in the slalom but has yet to claim a victory. This season, he finished second in Alta Badia and Zagreb.
The last Austrian man to win successive World Cup slalom events was Marcel Hirscher in January 2019. In the previous five Men's Slalom races held in the Flachau World Cup, three Austrians reached the podium, all second places: Mario Reiter on January 7th, 1996, Manfred Pranger on January 4th, 2004, and Rainer Schönfelder on December 22nd, 2004.
Flachau is a village in the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the Austrian state of Salzburg.
The 3 ski resorts Flachau, Wagrain, and St. Johann - Alpendorf together form Snow Space Salzburg, the ski area in the middle of Ski amadé and Austria. Taken alone, there are 120 kilometers of snow-sure pistes and 45 modern cable car systems that promise the highest quality and a concentrated variety. From the winter season 2020/21 you can enjoy this experience even more intensely because the new Panorama Link cable car connects the Grießenkareck mountain in Snow Space Salzburg with the Shuttleberg in Kleinarl-Flachauwinkl.
In connection with the neighboring ski areas Shuttleberg Flachauwinkl-Kleinarl and Skiparadies Zauchensee, you have a total of 210 kilometers of pistes and 70 lifts.
Flachau is part of the Ski Amadé ski domain, a network of 28 ski areas and towns that combined, make up the second-largest ski area in Europe. With only one lift pass you can ski on 760 kilometers of slopes served 270 modern lifts, spread out throughout the top five ski regions of Salzburger Sportwelt, Schladming-Dachstein (including the Dachstein Glacier at 2,700 m), Gastein, Hochkönig, and Grossarltal.
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