1 downhill, 2 runs: Unusual format will remain exception

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:06 a.m. ET

foxsports

ALTENMARKT-ZAUCHENSEE, Austria (AP) Lindsey Vonn will need two good runs on Saturday to match the record for most downhill wins on the women's World Cup circuit.

For the first time in 14 years, a women's downhill has been changed from one long ride to two short runs because snow conditions forced organizers to lower the start.

Vonn and many of her competitors are looking forward to the unusual format, but for the sport's governing body it remains an emergency solution.

FIS race director Atle Skaardal says ''it's definitely not the goal to get more of these races in. One run from the top to the bottom of the mountain, that's how we want to see it.''

By winning on Saturday, Vonn would match Austrian great Annemarie Moser-Proell's record of 36 downhill victories.