Svindal wins downhill race, Walchhofer grabs title

ARE, Sweden (Reuters) – Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal won the
men’s downhill race at the World Cup finals on Wednesday, while
Austrian Michael Walchhofer clinched his second consecutive
overall title for the discipline.

Svindal finished the race in one minute 42.4 seconds,
edging out second-placed Bode Miller of the U.S. by 0.2
seconds.

Italian Peter Fill was third, 0.3 behind the winner.

The win was Svindal’s second of the season after he won the
super-G in Lake Louise, Canada in November.

Walchhofer could only finish 11th but still won the
downhill title when his compatriot and only real challenger
Fritz Strobl came fourth, not high enough to surpass him in the
standings.

Olympic downhill champion Antoine Deneriaz had a race to
forget when he suffered a spectacular crash near the top of his
run, losing both his skis and his helmet as he flew into the
safety net.

Fortunately, Deneriaz was able to get back to his feet as
the race was delayed to allow the safety net to be fixed.