Henrik Kristoffersen's criticism appears to have gone too far. © APA/afp / FABRICE COFFRINI

FIS race director warns Kristoffersen: "There will be a severe penalty"

At the Wengen Ski World Cup, Henrik Kristoffersen had a heated exchange with officials regarding the slope preparation. FIS Race Director Markus Waldner has now issued a "warning" to the Norwegian.

24 January 2026

From: cst/apa

“Next time there will be a hefty penalty,” Waldner said at the team captains' meeting before the slalom classic in Kitzbühel. It wasn't that Kristoffersen had made criticisms, but rather the way he had done so, the Brixen native explained.

Kristoffersen, known for his fiery temper, declared after his third-place finish in Wengen that "everything is okay again between Markus and me." At the same time, however, he stood by his criticism. "The conditions on the slope were simply far too changeable. One section was completely slick, another soft, and in the next the snow was very aggressive." Such conditions, he said, were hazardous to health. "It didn't have to be like that; it would have been possible to prepare the slope differently."

Bad weather forecast for Kitzbühel slalom

Dense cloud cover is forecast for Sunday's slalom (10:30/13:30). "Sleet will set in during the afternoon, soon turning to snow. Current weather models are still uncertain whether this will happen during the second run (60% probability) or only afterward (40% probability)," according to the forecast from Geosphere Austria.