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2013-05-23Whistler joins Canada's eliteski holiday in Whistler this winter will be able to test their ability on some of the best runs in the world, after the venue was added to the proposed World Cup 2007-08 race calendar.
Canada already boasts Lake Louise on the schedule, but now Whistler and Panorama Mountain Village, both in British Colombia, have also been put forward.
The men's Super G and Giant Slalom and women's Downhill and Super Combined are pencilled in, which would certainly give your ski holiday in Whistler that extra bit of kudos.
Ken Read, president of the Alpine Canada Alpin, explained the importance of the decision: "More of our athletes will be able to compete in their home country and these new races truly complement the Bombardier Lake Louise Winterstart, Canada's only World Cup venue since 1998.
"This will also give our officials and volunteers the kind of world-class training needed to prepare for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, which is really only three seasons away."
The additions would bring Canada up to the top level, shared by Austria, as a country with three sites on the women's calendar.
The chance to enjoy a ski holiday in Whistler is just around the corner, as the resort opens its runs on November 23rd.
Walchhofer's time of one minute 51.90 seconds edged Switzerland's Didier Cuche into second place, with another Austrian, Mario Scheiber, taking up the final podium position.
The win for Walchhofer lifted him into third place in the men's World Cup downhill standings, behind first-placed Cuche and Marco Buechel of Liechtenstein.
Cuche's second place finish helped him into second place in the World Cup overall standings, tied with American Bode Miller, still some way behind Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal who finished 14th in Bormio.
Meanwhile, British skier Finlay Mickel could only manage a time of one minute 55.56 seconds, which saw him finish in 46th place.
Spectators enjoying their ski holiday in Bormio were fortunate to experience the incredible downhill drama as the race had originally been scheduled to take place in Val d'Isere.
After his dramatic victory on Thursday, the Austrian defending champion recorded a more comfortable win second time around.
Those on their Bormio ski holiday were denied the chance to see Italian Peter Fill win on home territory, as he finished in second place, 0.22 seconds behind the imperious Walchhofer.
Walchhofer, who won in one minute and 51.82 seconds, was joined on the podium by fellow Austrian Mario Scheiber, also showing consistency with his second third placed finish in a row.
After the race, Walchhofer commented: "This is a very special win for me because apparently I have become the first man to win two double downhills in his career.
"If someone had told me that coming here I would have said they were just crazy."
"Bormio is one of the toughest courses in the World Cup and I think it's good for me on this difficult course to win one of the best races," he told Eurosport.
Walchhofer's win would not have escaped the attention of anyone on a Bormio ski holiday over the festive period as it was the first time a double had occurred in the men's downhill.
Meanwhile, the Austrian is looking forward to the rest of the ski season which he faces with "more self-confidence".
Those enjoying a ski holiday in Wengen or a Chamonix ski holiday over the coming weeks will be able to catch Walchhofer in action in the next two rounds of competition.
Val d'Isere is taking the place of fellow French resort Chamonix, which unfortunately has been a little too warm to host the important event.
"The teams will arrive on Wednesday. Two trainings sessions are expected Thursday and Friday with the downhill on Saturday and the super-combined on Sunday," said men's World Cup director Gunther Hujara, according to Eurosport.
"There are good snow conditions at Val d'Isere and organisers are very motivated."
Anyone on a ski holiday in Val d'Isere will surely agree with Mr Hujara about the conditions at the resort following the recent snowfall that has covered the Alps.
The Italian triumphed in the Cortina giant slalom, her first World Cup victory since March 2003 and the eighth of her career.
Putzer, who has had to battle back from surgery last year, clocked a time of two minutes 46.93 seconds, 0.41 seconds better than runner-up Julia Mancuso from the US.
"I had been struggling for years because I didn't want to have the operation," she explained.
Fellow Italian, Denise Karbon, also made it onto the podium in third place.
Anyone on a ski holiday in Cortina who wanted to see how Britain's number one skier Chemmy Alcott fared would not have been disappointed.
The Brit, who excelled at the Winter Olympics last year when finishing 11th, has not enjoyed a good season, but she managed an improved performance to finish 28th.
But the 29-year-old finished more than nine seconds behind the race winner, Benjamin Raich.
Despite finishing at the back of the field, Miller hopes that his performance in Schladming will be enough to earn him a place on the US team for the imminent World Championships in Are, Sweden.
Those on an Are ski holiday will be able to see if Miller achieves one of his burning ambitions to become the first skier to win five separate world championship disciplines.
He is currently the reigning downhill and super-G champion, while he bagged the combined and giant slalom titles in 2003.
Providing a concern over an injury doesn't restrict him, people on a ski holiday in Are could see history in the making this weekend.
For more than two weeks, people on a ski holiday in Are will be able to watch the best skiers in the world push themselves to the limit in the super-G, downhill, slalom and giant slalom.
There will also be the Nations Team contest to round off proceedings, an event which was first introduced at Bormio in 2005.
In total, there will be 350 competitors from 60 nations looking for medal glory, hoping no doubt to follow in the footsteps of reigning champions such as Benjamin Raich and Bode Miller.
They may even have the World Championships record of five medals in their sights, a feat achieved by Lasse Kius in 1999.
British hopes lie with Finlay Mickel in the men's competition and Chemmy Alcott in the women's section.
The opening ceremony takes place on Friday, February 2nd, but those on a ski holiday in Are will be able to watch events all the way through to February 18th.
He pipped Benjamin Raich of Austria into second place by a margin of 0.08 seconds, despite Raich posting the fastest time on the slalom course.
There was more Swiss cheer when Marc Berthod also achieved a podium place, finishing third.
The American Bode Miller, who had earlier finished first in the downhill section, disappointed when it came to the slalom and fell down to sixth place.
Anyone on a ski holiday in Are who wanted to see British skier Noel Baxter in action will have witnessed the 25-year-old come 26th in the downhill, 21st in the slalom, finishing 25th overall.
Previously, Italy's Patrick Staudacher impressed people on an Are ski holiday by racing to victory in the super-G event on Tuesday.
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