Austria’s Michael Walchhofer set the fastest time in Thursday’s second and final training run for the Birds of Prey World Cup downhill race at Beaver Creek, Colorado.

Walchhofer, last season’s World Cup downhill champion, produced a time of one minute 45.36 seconds to finish 0.28 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Didier Cuche and set himself up well for Saturday’s race when he hopes for a repeat of his victory on this course in 2007.

“If there is something more to be got out of that course than it will be in the upper section,” Walchhofer (pictured) said.

“I raced the bottom half of the course perfectly; there is nothing more I could have got out of that,” added the Austrian, who after claiming silver at the Olympics in Turin in 2006 will be looking to go one better in February’s Vancouver Games.

Cuche won last week’s season-opening downhill in Lake Louise, the 35-year-old becoming the oldest man to win a World Cup downhill race, and showed he would be in contention again with another good run.

Fellow Swiss Didier Defago was third quickest, finishing 1.06 seconds behind Walchhofer, while Aksel Lund Svindal, the defending overall World Cup winner, was fourth just ahead of American Bode Miller.

Norwegian Svindal, who suffered a horrific crash on this course in 2007, came back to win the downhill and Super-G races at Beaver Creek last year.

Miller, back on the US team this year after spending last season as an independent racer, left the finish area without speaking to reporters for the second successive day.

A Super-combined event will be held on Friday with the downhill on Saturday and a giant slalom on Sunday.

Croatian Ivica Kostelic, who held out hopes in the combined and the giant, skipped Thursday’s practice due to a sore back.

Switzerland’s Daniel Albrecht, who has not competed since he spent three weeks in an induced coma in January following a crash at Kitzbuehel, will not be taking part in the Colorado races.

Albrecht, the 2007 world champion in combined, had hoped to launch his comeback at Birds of Prey but said in a statement that he was not yet ready.

Alpine Skiing — World Cup Beaver Creek:

Men’s Downhill Combined — Friday 6pm LIVE on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin Media 521) & Eurosport Player

Men’s Slalom Combined — Friday 9.15pm LIVE on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin Media 521) & Eurosport Player

Men’s Downhill — Saturday 6pm LIVE on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin Media 521) & Eurosport Player

Men’s Giant Slalom 1st Run — Sunday 4.45pm LIVE on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin Media 521) & Eurosport Player

Men’s Giant Slalom 2nd Run — Sunday 10pm on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin Media 521) & Eurosport Player

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