The first team captains' meeting is the official start of every World Cup race for Alpine ski racers. On Monday evening, the 57th Saslong Classic was also opened as part of this mandatory meeting. At the same time, the starting numbers were drawn for the first training session on late Tuesday morning from 11.45 am.

The first Team Captains Meeting began with a moving moment, as the Val Gardena Rescue Coordinator Othmar Prinoth, who passed away on Monday, was remembered with a minute's silence. In this role, Prinoth worked for the Saslong Classic Club for 25 years and made a significant contribution to the development of the rescue system, which was subsequently copied by many other organizers around the world.

Rainer Senoner, President of the Saslong Classic Club, and Heinz Kabusch, the FIS Technical Delegate, then addressed the audience before FIS Race Director Markus Waldner spoke to the coaches of the 15 national teams registered.

Course in very good condition
“As you all know, Val Gardena has been awarded the 2031 World Championships. We can look forward to some changes and further improvements. We wish Rainer Senoner and his team all the best for this event,” said Waldner in his introduction and then immediately went into the condition of the Saslong. “The course looks very good, we have a very solid base. There is a little softer snow on the surface, but we'll get that out during the inspection. The course was set by Hannes Trinkl and Raimund Plancker, everything is ready,” continued Waldner.

The FIS Race Director also commented on the program. It includes the first of two planned training sessions on Tuesday. “Depending on the weather forecast, we will then decide whether to hold the second trial run on Wednesday or Thursday,” explained Waldner in front of the assembled coaches and members of the OC team.

Franjo von Allmen opens the first trial run
In sporting terms, the 57th Saslong Classic will open on Tuesday morning with the first downhill training run, which starts at 11.45 am. Swiss skier Franjo von Allmen will open this trial run with bib number 1. Last year's winner and local hero Dominik Paris has been allocated the “12”, Val Gardena specialist Vincent Kriechmayr (Austria) will start with the “14” and thus directly ahead of overall World Cup winner Marco Odermatt. A total of 74 racers are taking part in this first training session.