TORINO: Alpine: Svindal fastest in men's combined downhill training

TORINO: Alpine: Svindal fastest in men's combined downhill training{mosimage}SESTRIERE, Italy – Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway was fastest in Monday's combined downhill training with a time of 1 minute, 38.01 seconds. More than a full second behind was teammate Lasse Kjus at 1:39.03. Italy's Patrick Staudacher was third with a time of 1:39.07. American slalom ace Ted Ligety was 13th at 1:40.45.

Ligety is optimistic about his chances for a medal: 'I think I have a good chance if I'm really close to those guys in the downhill, because I'm confident I can beat them in the slalom portion.'

He and teammates Bode Miller, Scott Macartney and Steve Nyman will represent the United States in the combined downhill.

Many top athletes, including Miller, didn't race in the training run, most of them preferring to take a day off. Kjetil Andre Aamodt, the reigning Olympic combined champion, did not race because of knee pain, and he may not start in Tuesday's combined race. 'We do not know yet' said Norwegian coach Martin Andersen. 'He will not train today. And we will get to know today before we do the entry.'