On Tuesday evening, the first team captains’ meeting took place in Selva/Wolkenstein, which traditionally opens the World Cup week in Val Gardena/Gröden. The discussion was about the race week in general as well as the condition of the race course - but there was more: as leaked during the meeting, the beleaguered Peter Fill will not participate in the downhill.

The meeting was opened by Rainer Senoner, president of the Organizing Committee, who warmly welcomed all those present. FIS race director Markus Waldner, who sat at Senoner's side, was pleased with the "ideal course conditions and a very good weather forecast, which indicate a smooth speed weekend". Waldner also took the opportunity to thank all those who helped in making the artificial snow and preparing a perfect track.

One of the big absentees in the Val Gardena/Gröden downhill is local favorite Peter Fill. The man from nearby Castelrotto/Kastelruth decided on short notice to skip the downhill after he crashed in Beaver Creek about two weeks ago. However, Fill will start in the super-G, which is scheduled for Friday.

Unlike in previous years, the training sessions - as well as the downhill on Saturday - will not start at 12:15 pm. but, instead, half an hour earlier at 11:45 am. The first of two scheduled downhill training sessions will take place tomorrow, Wednesday and it will be opened by French veteran Adrien Theaux.

The complete starting list can be found here.