Michael Walchhofer was quickest in the opening training session for Tuesday’s downhill in Bormio. The 34 year old Austrian, who won the World Cup downhill title in 2009, was 16 hundredths quicker than Andrej Jerman and compatriot Christoph Gruber.

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Michael Walchhofer tamed a tricky slope to win a men’s World Cup super-G in Val d’Isere and offered a resurgent Austrian team a further morale boost. The 34-year-old Walchhofer used his vast experience in difficult conditions with poor visibility to hand his Alpine nation their second victory in as many days in the French Alps resort after Benjamin Raich’s super-combined win on Friday.

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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.

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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.

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