Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy - World Cup organizers were forced Thursday to call off a third attempt to hold a women's downhill training run as poor weather continued to hamper the meeting in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

The downhill scheduled for Friday on the Olimpia delle Tofana course will now be cancelled as the race cannot be held without a training run.

The race was itself a replacement for a cancelled downhill at Lake Louise, Canada in early December.

Heavy snow had forced organizers to cancel the downhill training runs on Tuesday and Wednesday, while a super giant slalom initially scheduled for Thursday had also been called off.

Fog descended on the course Thursday, forcing a further cancellation.

Training is scheduled on Friday for a downhill race on Saturday, with a giant slalom slotted for Sunday. No decision has yet been taken on the super-G although a Monday race was seen as a possibility. (dpa)