LAKE LOUISE, Alberta — Didier Cuche of Switzerland won the season-opening World Cup downhill Saturday.
Cuche, third in last season’s overall standings, earned his 11th World Cup victory.
“It’s a great feeling,” he said. “I’ve had a really hard time in Lake Louise to be fast.”
He won by nearly half a second and was timed in 1 minute, 50.31 seconds. He was followed by Italy’s Werner Heel in 1:50.75 and Switzerland’s Carlo Janka in 1:50.93.
American star Bode Miller, back with the U.S. Ski Team this season, finished 29th.
The race was delayed about half an hour after a spill by American skier TJ Lanning. He fell headfirst into the snow and crashed into the fence. He was sitting up and moving when officials arrived.
The U.S. Ski Team said Lanning had a knee injury and was flown to a hospital for tests.
“What happened to TJ is a bummer. He’s one of my really good buddies, so it definitely put a shadow over everything,” said Andrew Weibrecht of Lake Placid, N.Y., who was the top American in 12th.
Canada’s John Kucera, who won the super-G at Lake Louise three years ago, finished sixth.
He was impressed with Cuche’s performance at age 35.
“He’s skiing well,” Kucera said of the Swiss star. “He’s strong in three disciplines.”
The season-opening super-G competition is today.
