Cuche wins world cup silver

Cuche celebrates his sterling performance Keystone

Swiss skier Didier Cuche has won the silver medal in the downhill race at the World Championships in Garmisch.

The 36-year-old from Neuchâtel, who was a favourite going into the downhill race, came in just about a third of a second behind Canadian Erik Guay on Saturday.

Guay completed the Kandahar run in 1:58.41; Cuche’s time was 1:58.73, followed by Italian Christof Innerhofer at 1:59.17.

After the race in the Bavarian resort, some were eager to point out that Cuche – who drew starting number 18 – was not as lucky as Guay, who was the tenth to start. Yet Cuche seemed happy with the results.

“I’m really pleased that I won a medal. I knew before the start that it would be very difficult because of the warm weather,” Cuche told Swiss television.

This latest medal is one of many for Cuche, the current world super-G champion. Indeed, he also won silver at the previous World Championships in Val d’Isère, France in 2009.

The other Swiss men placed within the top 12: Beat Feuz came in ninth, Ambrosi Hoffmann tenth and Silvan Zurbriggen twelfth.

The women’s downhill race is on Sunday.