Canada's John Kucera was fourth in today's final training run for the World Cup season-opening downhill scheduled for tomorrow morning.

On a day when changing light conditions played havoc on the mountain, Kucera took advantage of skiing in bright sunshine, finishing .97 seconds behind leader Michael Walchhofer of Austria. American Bode Miller was second, and Werner Heel of Italy third.

"I skied strong, solid," said Kucera, who earlier this year won the downhill at the world alpine championships.

"I feel good. I think things are heading in the right direction. I feel strong on my skis, I feel confident, I feel comfortable. The big things for me to find my time, they're not technical ski things, they're just maybe tactical mistakes here and there."

Erik Guay, the only other Canadian to ski before the sun ducked behind clouds, was 21st, clearly still feeling the affects of back problems that interrupted his off-season training.

Of those who started in the much more challenging flat light conditions, Robbie Dixon finished 51st and Jan Hudec 53rd. Manuel Osborne-Paradis originally placed 18th but was disqualified after the session for missing a gate.

Dixon said he had difficulty navigating the three-kilometre course after the beaming sun that lit up the terrain for the first dozen or so skiers suddenly disappeared.

"I got caught on the wrong side of the sunshine," said Dixon, who was the top Canadian in Wednesday's first training run.

- With a report from The Canadian Press