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Walchhofer speeds to victory at Beaver Creek

Austrian Michael Walchhofer, center, is flanked by second-place finisher Steven Nyman, left, and third-placed Didier Cuche on the podium after the downhill race on Friday in Beaver Creek. PHOTO: AP

Steven Nyman added to the high-speed drama of the week. Michael Walchhofer added to the Austrian men's reputation.

Nyman recovered from a harrowing one-ski maneuver in mid-course to remind the crowd of a dangerous week on the Birds of Prey slope -- which hospitalized Aksel Lund Svindal -- while Walchhofer ended Austria's winless streak by triumphing in Friday's World Cup downhill.

"I did that every single training run, but I did it best this time," said Nyman, who despite his fate-tempting run finished second five-hundredths of a second behind Walchhofer. "But I skied where I wanted to ski and I hit the line the whole way down the course. I'm pleased with my run."

Walchhofer claimed Austria's first victory of the season in 1 minute, 13.74 seconds, the nation's first since Benjamin Raich won last season's final slalom in March.

Despite winning every Nations Cup since 1993, Austrians often struggle to win their first race of the season. Last year, an Austrian didn't win until Dec. 28, a downhill victory by Walchhofer in Bormio, Italy, to end a 13-race slump.

Race winner Michael Walchhofer of Austria skies in the Mens Downhill at the FIS Ski World Cup in Beaver Creek, Colorado, on Friday. PHOTO: EPA

"It was an important victory for me," Walchhofer said. "It's one of the most difficult downhills. The Austrian press was waiting and watching for this victory. Our team is doing well at the moment, but it's not easy to win."

The result ended the Americans' four-year winning streak at Beaver Creek, with Walchhofer becoming the first non-American to win since Austria's Stephan Eberharter in 2002.

Nyman, who was skiing through particularly heavy snowfalls, came through the colossal Golden Eagle jump but then sat back on the tails of his skis going through the Abyss. He ended up skiing through it on one leg with the other in the air.

Skiers enter the Golden Eagle jump going as fast as 110kph and soar as far as 70m. In Tuesday's downhill training, Svindal sat too far back on his tails coming off the jump and crashed, breaking facial bones and also requiring abdominal surgery.

"I've got long legs. I look like a bird when I'm flying on the hill," Nyman said. "But I'm kind of used to those moves. I'm part cat."

Though it meant the end of the US winning streak, Nyman kept alive the Americans' string of downhill podium finishes in Beaver Creek. The US men have climbed the podium at the last six downhill races in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

Additionally, two other Americans finished in the top 10. Bode Miller, a two-time winner of this race, was sixth. Racing in his first World Cup downhill, rookie Andrew Weibrecht started 53rd but wound up 10th.

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