Austrian skier Hermann Maier faces a fine from the sport's ruling body FIS by almost causing a collision between piste workers and Italian skier Peter Fill in training for Saturday's World Cup downhill, according to dpa. Maier lost a ski but then returned onto the Val d'Isere course around 50 seconds later to continue his run. Once he was over the last bump, three piste workers entered the course for preparations, unaware of Maier's delay and that Fill was already approaching after starting his run 75 seconds after Maier. Screaming people next to the piste made the workers aware of the danger and they had barely left the main section of the piste when Fill shot past them. "This can happen, but it should not happen. There would have been a collision if I had been two seconds faster," said the shocked Fill. FIS race director Guenter Hujara insisted that a crashed skier was not allowed to return to the piste. Maier said he had no choice but to continue due to the terrain at the section. It was also noted that Fill was not stopped or flagged down to stop once Maier continued. The FIS was to discuss the issue later Thursday. In 2001, French skier Regine Cavagnoud died in downhill training on an Austrian glacier of injuries sustained in a collision on the piste with a German coach. At the 1996 worlds in Sierra Nevada, Spain, Russian Tatiana Lebedeva crashed into a FIS official which left both severely injured. At a 2006 World Cup race in St Moritz, Switzerland, Austrian Michaela Dorfmeister almost crashed into a piste worker. In all three cases misunderstandings in the walkie-talkie communications were given as the reason.
