Alpine Skiing

Maria Holaus led an Austrian charge and Elena Fanchini looks primed for her return as they posted the fastest two times in Tuesday's training for the season-opening World Cup women's downhill.

Holaus, who turns 27 later this month, flashed across the finish line in a time of one minute, 54.16 seconds to place ahead of Italy's Fanchini and Nadia Styger of Switzerland in cold conditions.

Austria had a strong performance Tuesday as three skiers finished in the top seven, including two-time Lake Louise runner-up in the Super-G Andrea Fischbacher who placed sixth.

Fanchini, who missed all of last season with a serious knee injury, clocked a time of 1:54.34 while Styger finished in a time of 1:54.58 The majority of the skiers wore tape on their faces to protect from frost bite as temperatures in the Canadian Rockies reached around minus-15 Celsius during the training run.

"The hill is good. The snow is perfect and it snowed quite a bit yesterday," said reigning World Cup overall champ Lindsey Vonn of the US. "It is soft in some parts but progressively over the next few days the snow will get more firm. But it is already in perfect shape."

The 24-year-old Fanchini sent a clear message to the field Tuesday that she is back and ready to contend this season after missing the 2009 World Cup season. She tore the ligaments in her left knee during training for last year's World Cup opener.

She also has a sister, Nadia, that competes on the circuit and finished 30th on Tuesday.

With the Vancouver Olympics just 10 weeks away, Styger has bragging rights going into the 2010 Winter Games. The 31-year-old Swiss is the only women in the field here who knows what it is like to win a downhill on the course that will be used for Olympics.

Styger won a World Cup women's downhill at Whistler in February 2008. Her best result in Lake Louise was a fourth in the downhill two years ago.
Vonn, who is the favourite going into the first speed races of the new campaign, finished eighth in a time of 1:55.10.

Five-time Olympic medal winner of Sweden Anja Pärson clocked a 1:55.47 to placed 11th, while German star Maria Riesch finished 16th in 1:56.03.

The first two downhills of the season will run Friday and Saturday with a Super-G scheduled for Sunday.