Val Gardena: Cuche tops training again; Miller eighth

VAL GARDENA, Italy — Switzerland's Didier Cuche posted the fastest training run for the second straight day Thursday in preparation for Saturday's World Cup downhill.

VAL GARDENA, Italy — Switzerland's Didier Cuche posted the fastest training run for the second straight day Thursday in preparation for Saturday's World Cup downhill.
    Cuche finished in 1 minute, 57.09 seconds down the 2.1-mile Saslong course, which is bumpier than usual due to thin snowcover.
    Cuche has posted top-five finishes in both downhills so far this season and is third in the overall World Cup standings.
    ''I'm skiing well but I've got to remain focused because there are [seven] guys within half a second,'' Cuche said.
    Cuche's teammate Ambrosi Hoffmann was second, 0.11 seconds behind, and Olympic champion Antoine Deneriaz of France was third, 0.21 back.
    Marco Buechel, last year's winner, was fourth, followed by a trio of Austrians — Michael Walchhofer, Hermann Maier and Norbert Holzknecht.
    Bode Miller, who won the season's previous downhill in Beaver Creek, Colorado, was eighth, 0.51 behind, despite slowing down as he crossed the finish line.
    ''Cuche is the favorite. Not just for how he's skiing here, but how he's been skiing all season,'' Miller said.
    Other U.S. Ski Team finishers were Steven Nyman in 33rd place, JJ Johnson 37th, Scott Macartney 54th and Jake Zamansky 65th. Marco Sullivan did not finish his run.   
    A super G is scheduled for Friday, followed by the downhill race Saturday.

— The Associated Press