Rain halts men's giant slalom in Switzerland

The men's alpine skiing World Cup giant slalom event at Adelboden in Switzerland was cancelled Saturday after rain badly degraded the slopes, organisers announced.

A decision will be taken later on whether the slalom planned for Sunday will go ahead, as the venue struggled with heavy rain and thick fog.

The giant slalom was called off at 9:30 am (0830 GMT), just an hour before the first run was due to start.

"The rain stopped the piste being prepared -- cancelling is a sensible decision," Maurice Adrait, an official with the French team, told AFP.

Adelboden managed to prepare a run despite a lack of snow, but was deluged with heavy rain and blanketed in thick fog on Saturday morning.

Austria's Marcel Hirscher, who leads the overall World Cup standings, was seen as the favourite for the two slalom events in Adelboden after his victory on Wednesday in Santa Caterina, Italy.
Source: AFP