The World Cup starts this weekend in Soelden and the injury status of athletes has just been hit by the announcement that Sofia Goggia will not be fit for the opening few months of the season after breaking her ankle. The Italian speed racer is also a more than decent GS skier and this is a big blow to the Italian team as well as the World Cup. Goggia is aiming to be back in January after fracturing her ankle in a training crash. No surgery is required at this time, and Goggia will follow a conservative rehabilitation plan over the next 4-5 weeks while the bone heals.
Soelden is notorious for last minute injuries with Aksel Lund Svindal, Eva Marie Brem and Anna Fenninger all having been cursed in the last few years with season ending injuries.
British fans will be disappointed not to see Charlie Raposo continue his World Cup career in Soelden. In the run up to the end of the summer training period, Raposo tweaked his back and along with his coaches they decided to miss Soelden and focus on Beaver Creak. It is a long season and with the World Championships in Are in February, missing one race to allow his back to get better was deemed the better path to follow.
This season will see Felix Neueuther and Ilka Stuhec amongst others return to the World Cup after being injured for the whole of last season.
With press conferences a-plenty over the next two days, this is the start of the new season on the World Cup!