Heavy rain and warm weather forecasts forced the International Ski Federation to cancel the opening races of the World Cup ski season on Tuesday.

The FIS said this weekend's giant slalom races in Soelden, Austria, will not be rescheduled.

"It's just been cancelled," FIS official Sonja Reichen said. "They did a great job of preparing the course and everything looked great yesterday, but with all that heavy rain last night, it's not possible."

The women's giant slalom was scheduled for Saturday, followed by the men's giant slalom on Sunday.

Tuesday's cancellation means the next races on the circuit — Nov. 11 and 12 in Levi, Finland — will serve as the season openers.

With files from Associated Press