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LAGHI CIME BIANCHE, Italy — Racing has finally begun on a new downhill ski course that starts in Switzerland and finishes in Italy, a year after World Cup races were canceled there because of a lack of early-season snow. The first training run was completed under sunny blue skies ahead of Saturday's inaugural men's World Cup downhill on the Gran Becca track, which has starts near the iconic Matterhorn peak but has become a sore point for environmental activists. It was supposed to be inaugurated last year but two race weekends had to be canceled because of a lack fo snow. And last month, regional public authorities opened an investigation into organizers excavating snow from a nearby glacier to help prepare this week's races.
