LAKE LOUISE, Alberta (AP) — Michael Walchhofer of Austria has won the first men’s downhill of the World Cup season.
Austria placed three skiers in the top six Saturday. Bode Miller was the top American, finishing eighth.
The 35-year-old Walchhofer is competing in his last World Cup season. He won in 1 minute, 47.78 seconds, the first downhill victory by an Austrian man since March 2009. This is the same course where in 2003 he won his first downhill.
On a warm day and under blue skies, Mario Scheiber of Austria and Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway tied for second in 1:48.33. Austria’s Klaus Kroell was sixth in 1:48.89.
