BEAVER CREEK, 01/12/2005 20:41 (AP) - Hannes Reichelt of Austria won the World Cup SuperG in Beaver Creek for his first career victory on Thursday, less than nine months after tearing knee ligaments.

Taking advantage of a break in the swirling winds when he skied the section of the Birds of Prey course that gave so many others trouble, Reichelt finished in 1 minute, 17.33 seconds.

"In the middle part, I got the good conditions", Reichelt said, "I tried to risk a lot and maybe that's the reason I was so fast today, it's been a hard time, when I started skiing again, my goal was just to ski without pain"..

For Reichelt the start to the World Cup season has gone far better than he would have imagined. He tore up his left knee during a lower-tier race in Italy in March, then was off skis for five months.

After showing promise with three top-eight SuperG finishes during the 2002-03 season, including a second place at Val Gardena, he never really came close to such results until this week. He was eighth in Monday's SuperG at Lake Louise, Alberta, then topped that on Thursday.

Erik Guay of Canada took second place, only 0.04 seconds behind, with Matthias Lanzinger of Austria third in 1:17.49.

Guay was sidelined for nine months after tearing ligaments in his left knee two years ago, a week after finishing a career-best second in a Downhill at Lake Louise.

Like Reichelt, who started seventh on Thursday, Guay was in the early part of the race, 17th out of the gate. "It was so windy up there", Guay said, "it's snowing like crazy and blowing even more".

Aksel Lund Svindal, winner in lake Louise, took the 4th position, he is still the current WC overall standing Leader with 214 points.

"Race day here was a little sketchy, it was tough conditions, it's hard on the mind because you really want to attack, but then with the conditions and this kind of hill you have to be really conservative on the line", said American Daron Rahlves, fifth on Thursday, and third last season behind Miller and Maier in the SuperG standings.

Hermann Maier of Austria was eighth, and reigning super-G and overall World Cup champion Bode Miller of the United States skied off course in snowy and windy conditions.

RESULTS Men's SuperG
Beaver Creek 01/12/2005

1 Reichelt Hannes 01' 17" 33
2 Guay Erik 01' 17" 37
3 Lanzinger Matthias 01' 17" 49
4 Svindal Aksel-Lund 01' 18" 00
5 Rahlves Daron 01' 18" 22
6 Defago Didier 01' 18" 25
7 Aamodt Kjetil-Andre 01' 18" 26
8 Maier Hermann 01' 18" 27
9 Staudacher Patrick 01' 18"

***

Elena Fanchini fastest

LAKE LOUISE, 02/12/2005 02:21 - Elena Fanchini of Italy had the fastest time in the final training run for the first women's Downhill races of the World Cup season. Fanchini covered the 3.15-kilometre Olympic Downhill course in 1'48"32. Austrian Alexandra Meissnitzer was second in 1'49"08 and her teammate Michaela Dorfmeister was third in 1'49"15.