Cancelled women's downhill in Switzerland elicits whistles, jeers from crowd of 10,000

A downhill race in the women's World Cup was cancelled Saturday after initially being delayed for two hours because of fog over the course in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.

The downhill is now set for Sunday, taking the place of a super-G which was scheduled, race organizers said.

The cancellation was due to the "dangerous situation on the slope and for safety reasons," the International Ski and Snowboard Federation said.

The decision provoked whistles and jeers in the finish area from some spectators among a sold-out crowd of about 10,000.

After several delays from the scheduled 11 a.m. start, the race was due to begin at 1 p.m. on the mostly sun-bathed Mont Lachaux course. A forerunner testing the course then crashed on his run.

Spring-like soft snow conditions were reported by racers in the official training run Friday when World Cup downhill leader Sofia Goggia crashed into course-side safety fences.

Marie-Michèle Gagnon of Lac-Etchemin, Que., who announced recently should would retire from alpine ski racing at the conclusion of the World Cup season, was scheduled to race Saturday along with fellow Canadian Stefanie Fleckenstein.

The south-facing slope at Crans-Montana warms quickly in the sunshine and a race with 49 expected starters Saturday could have continued close to 3 p.m.

World Cup overall leader Mikaela Shiffrin has skipped races at the Swiss Alps resort to take a break after the world championships.

Shiffrin has a massive 731-point lead and is on track to win a fifth giant crystal globe as the season-long champion.