Fog and reduced visibility forced the men's first Olympic downhill training to be cancelled, after 42 of 87 racers were in the finish area. After 42 racers took part in the first training run, the Olympic Race Organizing Committee decided to put a stop to the downhill training run because of the lack of visibility on the course.

With bib 16, Swiss skier and leader of the World Cup downhill standings moved into the top spot, edging off Canada's Robbie, Dixon and teammate Ambrosi Hoffmann to second and third place.

Already in Lake Louise and Kitzbuehel, Cuche put down the best time in training and then won the races.

Today, the Swiss was racing the downhill with a special brace for his thumb, which he injured in the Kranjska Gora giant slalom end of January. "My thumb does not really hurt or interferes with my skiing," the Swiss said. "The only thing is that it kind of bothers me when I am tucking and trying to be in an aerodynamic position."

Cuche who has won four World Cups this season, two of them were downhills, was relieved to have skied fast in today's training. Despite a smaller mistake shortly before the finish, Cuche was .29 seconds faster than Dixon and .55 seconds faster than Hoffmann when crossing the finish line.

"In the forefront of the Olympics, it was often said that this downhill course is for the speed skiers who are good gliders but I think the course is not so easy. It has varied terrain and some wider and tighter turns," Cuche explained.

"Since I was fast today, I can be a bit more relaxed without having to risk too much. I found a pretty fast line down the course today and that helps me to stay confident."

Robbie Dixon (Whistler, BC) was the top Canadian after the run as he finished second, finishing with a time of 1:53.51 behind Didier Cuche who had a time of 1:53.22.

Even if it was a just a training run, this top result was definitely a confidence booster for this Whistler based athlete. "Training doesn't count but it's good confidence to carry out into the race," said Dixon. "It's a great course. It has everything a downhill could ask for. It's one of my favorites, I love coming here and racing downhill on it. It's just great skiing in my backyard," added Dixon.

With the third fastest time, Cuche's teammate Ambrosi Hoffmann secured himself a start place for Saturday's race. "I am happy that it went so well today and the downhill course seems to suit me," Hoffmann said who was forced to pause for some time after having pulled a muscle in the final training in Wengen.

The men speed skiers will be back at work after the ladies super combined, weather permitting, tomorrow morning for their second downhill training run before the official downhill race Saturday February 13th.

Busy Thursday at Whistler Creekside

It's going to be a busy Thursday at Whistler Creekside with both men's and women's downhill training runs scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. local time. The men's training run is the second of three scheduled sessions prior to Saturday's Olympic medal event for downhill. For women, it will be the first of three scheduled downhill training runs before the super combined on Sunday.

Women's training will run the entire length of Franz's Olympic slope. Top favorite Lindsey Vonn (USA) will be testing her injured shin. "At this point I really don't know how it's going to feel," said Vonn, whose status is day-to-day. "I'm hoping that tomorrow when I get on skis things will be OK. I'm just trying to stay positive and continue doing therapy. We'll know a lot more tomorrow after I get on the snow. My plan hasn't changed, I'm still going to do the best that I can to compete at the highest level possible in all disciplines."

Over on the Dave Murray Run, which is on a different slope adjacent to the women's course, all men's athletes will start in one minute intervals and finish just above the slalom start, approximately 200 meters above the shared finish with the women's course.

The weather forecast - issued by Environment Canada - calles for a front moving in from the Pacific and giving light snow through Wednesday evening. A brief break will occur before a second front will arrive Thursday with snowfall. Snow will then become mixed with rain near course bottom, potentially with areas of mid-mountain fog. Temperatures varying from plus 2 to minus 1 at the top....

FISalpine.com
Thursday 11 February 2010