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.

British Alpine Ski Team member, Pam Thorburn (23, Strathaven) got her Olympic season underway with a well-deserved win in her opening race in Hemsedal, Norway on the 24 November 2009.

Lindsey Vonn, who has won five straight times at Lake Louise, begins defence of her title as the World Cup shifts to the Canadian Rockies for the first women’s downhill of the season.

The spotlight is firmly on the reigning World Cup overall champion Vonn but the American will face a stiff challenge from a handful of skiers hoping to knock her off her perch and steal one of the three Alpine speed races this weekend.

Canada’s Manuel Osborne-Paradis claimed the World Cup super-G at Lake Louise. Victory celebrations were muted by an injury to team mate John Kucera.

Canada’s downhill world champion Kucera is in danger of missing next year’s Vancouver Olympics after breaking his leg in a high-speed fall.

Kucera was airlifted from the Lake Louise course to a nearby hospital after crashing into the safety netting during the race.

“John Kucera has a left leg fracture that will require surgery,” said Alpine Canada in a statement. There was no immediate comment on whether he would be able to compete at the Olympics, starting in February.

Swiss veteran Didier Cuche blitzed to victory in the season-opening men’s World Cup downhill at Lake Louise.

The 35-year-old Cuche, who clocked a time of one minute 50.31 seconds in lightly-falling snow to notch up his 11th career victory, become the oldest ever winner of a World Cup downhill.

Italy’s Werner Heel, who closed last season with a super-G victory at the World Cup finals, was back on the podium, taking second in 1:50.75 just ahead of Swiss Carlo Janka, runner-up in Lake Louise a year ago.

Led by Cuche, it was a superb day in the Canadian Rockies for the Swiss who had five skiers in the top 11. Ambrosi Hoffmann came home fifth, Tobias Gruenenfelder was ninth and Patrick Kueng 11th.

“I’ve been frustrated here at Lake Louise, particularly in the downhill,” said Cuche, who also won the season-opening giant slalom in Soelden. “But never give up and it happened today.

“The Swiss team was so strong today; we have seven guys in the top 20. I’m confident now so we will see what will happen in the next days and weeks. Tomorrow is another day and I will do my best.”

Michael Walchhofer and Bode Miller set the pace for the season-opening men’s World Cup downhill by clocking the fastest times in final training at Lake Louise — the course where they both had their maiden downhill wins.

Walchhofer, a winner on Whitehorn mountain in 2003 and the reigning World Cup downhill champion, signalled he was ready to defend his crown with the hard-charging Austrian clocking a time of one minute 50.66 seconds.

Miller, who claimed back-to-back victories in Lake Louise in 2004 capturing the downhill and super-G, also looked in superb early season form crossing in 1:51.25 just in front of Italy’s Werner Heel.

Jason Lamy-Chappuis is feeling in good shape ahead of the opening event of the Nordic Combined World Cup in Kuusamo this weekend.

French number one Chappuis has fond memories of Kuusamo after collecting his maiden World Cup victory at the Finnish venue in 2006.

He said: “After five days in Finland last week, mostly undertaking jumping exercises on the 90 metre hill, we had a little competition.

Didier Cuche was quickest in opening training for Saturday’s World Cup downhill in Lake Louise.

The 35-year-old Swiss, who won the season’s first World Cup giant slalom race in Soelden, posted a time of one minute 49.98 seconds in the Canadian Rockies.

Austrian downhill champion Michael Walchoffer was next quickest, 0.62 seconds behind, with France’s Pierre-Emmanuel Dalcin in third.