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Downhill ski races at Matterhorn to make World Cup debut

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ZERMATT, Switzerland (AP) — Skiing’s newest downhill course that crosses between Switzerland and Italy next to the Matterhorn mountain will have its debut World Cup races in October, the International Ski Federation said Friday.

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ZERMATT, Switzerland (AP) — Skiing’s newest downhill course that crosses between Switzerland and Italy next to the Matterhorn mountain will have its debut World Cup races in October, the International Ski Federation said Friday.

The available dates are Oct. 29-30 and Nov. 5-6 for back-to-back weekends of two downhills each for men and women.

“FIS is giving speed athletes an earlier start to the season and the Alpine World Cup a season without interruptions thanks to two additional race weekends,” skiing’s governing body said.

FILE - A 'Matterhorn-Express' gondola lift in front of Matterhorn mountain in the Zermatt ski resort, in Zermatt, Switzerland, March 18, 2020. Skiing’s newest downhill course that crosses between Switzerland and Italy next to the Matterhorn mountain will have its debut World Cup races in October, the International Ski Federation said Friday. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP, File)
FILE - A 'Matterhorn-Express' gondola lift in front of Matterhorn mountain in the Zermatt ski resort, in Zermatt, Switzerland, March 18, 2020. Skiing’s newest downhill course that crosses between Switzerland and Italy next to the Matterhorn mountain will have its debut World Cup races in October, the International Ski Federation said Friday. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP, File)

The first downhill races each season are currently in Lake Louise, Canada, starting late November.

The earliest start for the downhill season is possible on glacier snow near upscale resort Zermatt at the storied mountain. It is known as the Matterhorn on the Swiss side and Cervino by Italians.

FIS hopes the course will have environmental gains for a sport threatened by climate change and warmer temperatures.

“All teams will be able to take advantage of on-site training throughout the year,” FIS president Johan Eliasch said. “This will reduce travel to long-distance venues in the southern hemisphere.”

The high-altitude course is designed by Didier Defago, the 2010 Olympics downhill champion who is FIS’s test racer for new courses designed for Winter Games, including in China next month.

Because a key cable car will not be completed in time, the first Matterhorn races will run from below the start at 3,900 meters (12,800 foot) that it will eventually use.

FILE - Didier Defago, former ski racer from Switzerland and designer of the slope, talks to journalists in the finish area of the new ski slope
FILE - Didier Defago, former ski racer from Switzerland and designer of the slope, talks to journalists in the finish area of the new ski slope "Gran Becca" which will be used in the ski world cup calendar during a medias visit between the alpine ski resort of Zermatt in Switzerland and Breuil-Cervinia in Italy, Friday, November 26, 2021. Skiing’s newest downhill course that crosses between Switzerland and Italy next to the Matterhorn mountain will have its debut World Cup races in October, the International Ski Federation said Friday. The new alpine skiing races in the world cup calendar will start in autumn 2023. The course, which starts at 3'800 meters above sea level and finished at 2'865 meters above sea level. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP, File)

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