Andorran Skiers Caminal 48th in Val di Fassa Downhill, Cornella 13th in Hakuba Slalom

Jordina Caminal placed 48th in the first World Cup downhill race at Val di Fassa, Italy, recording 1:23.92, 2.52 seconds behind winner Laura Pirovano of Italy. Starting with bib 48, the Andorran skier gained one position but could not close the gap further. She has another downhill opportunity on Saturday, alongside teammate Joan Verdú's giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, and Gina del Rio's cross-country sprint in Lahti, Finland.

Earlier, Caminal ended 48th in the second downhill training run with 1:25.13, 2.89 seconds off leader Nina Ortlieb of Austria. Her coach, Xoque Bellsolà, noted time losses from missing a gate on the lower section, echoing her 37th place in Thursday's opener at 1:25.57, 2.65 seconds behind Ilka Stuhec of Slovenia (1:22.92), who also skipped a gate. Romane Miradoli of France was second (+0.17), followed by Breezy Johnson of the United States (+0.34). Bellsolà remains optimistic for a top-30 finish amid strong competition, with Caminal just over a second off in the second training. The weekend schedule includes Saturday's downhill at 10.45am and Sunday's super-G at the same time, after Friday's rescheduled Crans Montana downhill at 11.30am. These events follow the recent El Tarter World Cup.

Xavier Cornella achieved 13th in the second Far East Cup slalom at Hakuba, Japan, with 1:25.02 for 25.80 FIS points, 1.24 seconds behind Matteo Canins of Italy (1:23.78). Anton Tremmel of Germany took second (+0.49), ahead of Camden Palmquist of the United States (+0.66). Teammate Bartumeu Gabriel finished 26th at 1:26.00 (+2.22, 34.34 FIS points). This was Cornella's third-best slalom of the season, following his seventh place the previous day (1:24.89, +1.19 off Spain's Aingeru Garay, 25.38 FIS points)—his second-best overall result. Gabriel placed ninth that day (1:25.96, +2.26, 34.71 points), correcting some initial reports of 19th. Cornella's performances, including prior continental cups, boost his 2027 FIS list to 26.15 points, keeping him in the top three rankings.

Joan Verdú completed training at Reiteralm, Austria, this week for Saturday's Kranjska Gora giant slalom, with first run at 9.30am and second at 12.30pm. The Andorran team arrived Sunday, trained Monday to Wednesday on a course replicating the venue's warm, salt-treated snow, rested Thursday, then traveled. As the FAE's leading skier with VAN DEER-Red Bull Sports, Verdú aims to qualify for the Saalbach finals, drawing on his Olympic 10th in Milan-Cortina. He sits 24th in giant slalom standings on 60 points, with results including DNF in Saalbach, 20th in Adelboden, 19th in Alta Badia, DNFs in Val d'Isère and Beaver Creek, 16th in Copper Mountain, and 12th in Sölden—ninth there last season.