Best Downhill Training Time for Kjus
Norway’s Lasse Kjus clocked the best time in the only training run held on the long and superb "Lauberhorn" course in Wengen, Switzerland, where the next speed event is scheduled for Saturday.

Kjus, the 1996 overall World Cup winner and leader in the downhill World Cup standings after Val d’Isère and Val Gardena, beat his closest rival, 1992 Olympic Champion Patrick Ortlieb (AUT), by over a second.

Kjus' teammate Kjetil Aamodt, 2nd on Tuesday in a giant slalom at Adelboden, confirmed his improving power by reaching a promising 3rd fastest time, at 1.68 seconds in front of three Austrians, including Hermann Maier.

"The Herminator," who celebrated a success here in 1998 on a shorter course, clocked the 5th best time at 1.83 seconds back. Maier won the last downhill in Bormio three weeks ago.

The best Swiss, Markus Hermann, only posted the 15th best time at almost three seconds back—a disappointing result. America’s Chad Fleischer reached an encouraging 18th place.

The "Lauberhorn" race, held on the same course since its creation in 1930, is the longest competition on the World Cup tour at 4276 meters in length and a vertical drop of 1028 meters. Besides spectacular challenges of this course including the "Hundschopf" jump (means "Head of Dog"), a series of tough technical turns located before that jump, then the "Bruggli" in the middle of the track (the "S" of the little bridge), the racers remain mostly in a tuck position.

"Gliding is important here but you also need a good physical shape to be as compact as possible on you way to the finish line," said Kjus, whose best result here was 9th place in 1995.

"You have to ski perfectly from the top to the bottom. It’s a fascinating challenge," he added.

The Norwegian, who didn’t race in Bormio in December to recover from the flue, showed his strong form later on in Schladming by setting the best intermediate time in a super-G before crashing out of the course.

If Kjus skis as precisely as in early December, he will be very difficult to beat in Switzerland. His teammate Aamodt, who won a downhill in Chamonix, France, back in 1994, could be his toughest rival. Kjus, the 1994 overall World Cup champion, is putting great pressure on Hermann Maier in the overall World Cup standings. A good result in the downhill and in the slalom on Sunday would permit him to win the first combined of the season and get closer to Maier.

On his side, the 1992 Olympic Champion Patrick Ortlieb is fighting hard for his last serious chance to regain his position within the Austrian team for the World Championships.

Also aiming for a top-3 place is Fritz Strobl, 3rd here in 1997 and 2nd in Bormio. Other teams may be just pleased with any top-10 finish.

—Mountain Zone European Correspondent