Day 2 at King's Gate began at dawn for the organising crew who who put in a massive effort to add hay and extra netting to the critical safety spots on the track after safety issues were raised yesterday. They worked so hard that the first practice run began on time at the scheduled 11 am.
The track was dry, but this is the Alps where weather is always a factor, and after a few runs the rain appeared, sending riders scurrying for rain wheels. The wet didn't change the character of the track much - the slide were longer, but riders still charged hard.
And then the Alps weather reversed course; the sun came out, the track quickly dried, and the queues at the start line lengthened as riders looked to get some last dry practice before tomorrows timed qualifiers. But alas, the Alps weather reversed again, and the rain came hard, along with a cold wind, and the day ended a little early.
Some of the afternoon's runs were timed, and you can check them out here, but the times give little indication of what to expect on qualifying day tomorrow. The forecast is for more rain tomorrow, but a warm and dry race day on Sunday, adding an extra layer of unpredictability to the race.
Tomorrow's schedule includes a single practice run, followed by a maximum of four timed qualifying runs, and then on to the Open Skateboard Repechage, where riders with a qualifying time from 59th down compete against each other for the last five spots in Sunday's 64-person finals bracket. In Luge it looks like there will be a single 4-man repechage heat to decide the last three places for Sunday's 16-person finals.
