7 February 2003

The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2003 St. Moritz-Pontresina, Engadine for two weeks from 1st to 16th February.

Final Downhill Training Run
Swiss favourite Didier Cuche and Italian veteran Kristian Ghedina clocked identical times to lead the men's final downhill training practice in St. Moritz on Friday. Many big names, including Hermann Maier, fell victim to the demanding course and will finish outside the top 30 for Sunday's race.

Local hope Cuche's storming performance won him a spot in Saturday's showcase men's downhill of the World Alpine Skiing championships. After several top contenders had skied off of the treacherous course, Cuche knocked Didier Defago out of the Swiss team for the highlight of the St Moritz festival in the process.

Ghedina, winner of 13 World Cup downhills, capitalised on his experience to clock exactly the same time as Cuche in a session which suggested that there could be a few surprises in the blue riband event. "The pressure was enormous because I had to fight with Defago," Cuche said after earning the chance to try to hand Switzerland their first medal of the championships. "I gave it everything I had," added the 28-year-old, who has not won a downhill this season but whose resume features a victory in Kitzbühel in 1998.

Maier misses a gate
Austrian team officials had already named their squad and Hermann Maier could only be grateful that Friday's training run was not a qualification race. The Herminator, staging a remarkable comeback after nearly losing his leg in a motorcycle accident, missed a gate on the lower section of the sun-bathed Corviglia piste.

Norwegian medal hunters Kjetil Andre Aamodt and Lasse Kjus, who will try to gatecrash the Austrian party on Saturday, also left the course. Both were already certain to start the race. Austrian Stephan Eberharter, the overwhelming favourite for gold on Saturday after winning the opening super-G here on Sunday, also struggled, posting the seventh fastest time.

Austrians looking strong
The quickest Austrian was Fritz Strobl, the Olympic downhill champion, with the fifth best time according to provisional results. Like Maier, Strobl was spared the ordeal of having to qualify in the last training run when he was included on Wednesday in a mighty five-man team also featuring Eberharter, Michael Walchhofer and defending world champion Hannes Trinkl. The quickest 30 from training will start in reverse order for the race proper on Saturday.

Racing is covered on Eurosport and the BBC's Ski Sunday and the official website.

[Source: www.eurosport.com]

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