The World Cup week in Val Gardena/Gröden is kicking off on Wednesday, December 17th with the first training run for the Downhill. The first athlete to tackle the Saslong will be 30-year-old Silvano Varettoni from Italy starting at 12:15 pm. He is followed by an athlete with deep knowledge of the course and snow and even a surprising win in Val Gardena/Gröden. It is Silvan Zurbriggen who is starting 2nd. Then we will see Romed Baumann and Jan Hudec.

The second Italian on the track will be Werner Heel, who is starting with bib 7 after Beat Feuz and Manuel Osborne Paradis. Peter Fill, who is a local favorite, will start with bib 11. Kjetil Jansrud, who is currently 2nd on the Overall World Cup as well as leader in the Downhill rankings will start with bib 16.

A note to remind our readers that the Downhill is taking place on Friday with a start time of 12:15 pm and the Super-G on Saturday, also at 12:15 pm.