Chamonix's loss is Val d'Isere's gain

Gunther Hujara, the World Cup director, has made Val d’Isere the FIS official choice for replacing Les Houches (Chamonix valley) on the 20th and 21st January. The Tarentaise resort is only too happy to pick up the pieces after the cancellation of the race in Chamonix due to poor snow conditions. Benefiting from a superior altitude to its Mont Blanc rival, with a finish line at some 1800m, the conditions look good for competitors. The teams are due to arrive on Wednesday with two training sessions planned for Thursday and Friday. The downhill is scheduled for the Saturday and the super combined for the Sunday.