Beaver Creek: Cuche leads super combi after DH

BEAVER CREEK, Colo. — With the top contenders down the hill in the first leg of the first Super Combined of the 2008 World Cup season, Swiss downhill Didier Cuche held a narrow lead over U.S. racer Steven Nyman, with Michael Walchhofer of Austria in third.
    A number of slalom skiers were poised to make a bid for the combined win. In last season's combined here, Aksel Svindal, had been 2.04 seconds behind after the downhill.

BEAVER CREEK, Colo., – With the top contenders down the hill in the first leg of the first Super Combined of the 2008 World Cup season, Swiss downhill Didier Cuche held a narrow lead over U.S. racer Steven Nyman, with Michael Walchhofer of Austria in third.
    A number of slalom skiers were poised to make a bid for the combined win. In last season's combined here, Aksel Svindal, had been 2.04 seconds behind after the downhill. This season the top 30 finishers were within 2.02 seconds.
    Cuche did not race the combined here last season, but said he was going to give it his best shot.
    "This summer I trained more slalom than any time in the last 10 years," he said. "Which was three runs."
    Nyman said he wasn't as confident in his slalom skills as downhill, "but I have been training well this Spring."
    Bode Miller, who won the downhill leg last season, was .56 back, Lars Myhre was .86 seconds back. Christoph Innerhofer, while not a known slalomist, did win the indoor European Cup opener at Landgraaf Nov. 8, and was 1.06 out. Rainer Schoenfelder, eighth in last season's final combined standings was 1.15 seconds back. Benjamin Raich was 1.49 seconds out and Ivica Kostelic 1.51.
    The U.S. squad should have been pleased with Andrew Weibrecht 1.02 seconds out, from the 37th start position. And TJ Lanning ripped to 1.41 behind from start 45. Ted Ligety, perhaps the fastest of the current group of U.S. slalom skiers, was 2.38 seconds behind after the downhill portion.
    Marco Buechel of Liechtenstein had held third after the downhill but was disqualified for employing an illegal race suit.