The 37-year-old, who is a former world champion in both downhill and super-g, said he had been considering giving up for a while but has now decided the time is right to move on following his compatriot's crash.

"I’ve been thinking about retiring for a little while now and I knew it would be my last season on the tour," Guay, Canada's most decorated Alpine skier, said.

"But after Manny’s [Manuel Osborne-Paradis] accident yesterday I realised I was no longer willing to take the risk that speed skiing represents.

"Plus, I miss my family more and more when I’m away.”

The event in Lake Louise, which begins tomorrow, is the third leg of the men’s season this weekend and features downhill and super-G action.

Osborne-Paradis, another Canadian skier, crashed during a training run yesterday and broke his leg.

The World Championships bronze medallist in super-G last year fractured both his tibia and fibula and will be out for the rest of the season.

In a statement the FIS said they wish him “a full and fast recovery”.

Elsewhere during the training runs last year’s downhill crystal globe winner and Lake Louise defending champion Beat Feuz from Switzerland set the fastest time.

The competition itself begins tomorrow with the downhill event, before the super-g race takes place on Sunday (November 25).

Also taking place this weekend in Killington in the United States is the third leg of the women’s World Cup season, featuring events in slalom and giant slalom. 

It is the third time the event has been held at the resort and crowds of up to 40,000 people are expected to watch skiers including Olympic giant slalom champion Mikaela Shiffrin.

Last time out on the circuit Shiffrin won the slalom event in Levi in Finland, beating Slovakia’s Petra Vilhová and Austria’s Bernadette Schid, which is an exact repeat of the top three in Killington last year.

The giant slalom title in 2017 was claimed by Viktoria Rebensburg from Germany.

She will defend her title tomorrow, with Shiffrin taking to the snow a day later on Sunday.