体坛英语新闻：Women's giant slalom World Cup in Slovakia postponed due to strong wind

BRATISLAVA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The first women's alpine skiing World Cup competition in Slovakia in 30 years was postponed, the organizers announced on Saturday.

The giant slalom competition in Jasna in the Northern Slovakia didn't take place as planned on Saturday as the start of the race was prevented by a strong wind that reached a velocity of more than 30 meters per second on the upper slopes of the course. Instead, the race will officially take place on Monday.

The first round of another event - the ladies slalom - is set to take place at 10.30 a.m. on Sunday. This competition - with two Slovak elite skiers Veronika Velez-Zuzulova and Petra Vlhova - is the most eagerly awaited feature of the World Cup weekend. The start is placed at the altitude of 1,450 meters, with the track length of 601 meters and vertical drop of 200 meters.

Even though the start is located far lower than in Aspen, for example, it's still higher than in some traditional Austrian resorts.

"The track in Jasna appears rather easy, but it's tricky in fact. It's long and certainly it isn't one of the easiest in the World Cup circuit," noted Velez-Zuzulova, the second placed woman in the slalom skiing World Cup ranking.