Swiss skiers strike silver and bronze

Daniel Albrecht en route to his second medal of the championships Keystone

Daniel Albrecht and Didier Cuche have come second and third in the men's giant slalom at the World Ski Championships in Åre, Sweden.

Overall World Cup leader Aksel Lund Svindal from Norway took his second gold of the championships, almost half a second ahead of the competition.

First-run leader Albrecht attacked the second leg but missed out by only 0.48 seconds with a combined time of two minutes, 20.12 seconds.

It was his second medal of the championships, after his surprise gold in the combined last week.

“I’m much more relaxed after the gold medal,” said Albrecht. “Everything is going so well. Where in the past I would make mistakes, now I have more speed.”

Seventh after the first leg, Cuche charged down the second run to finish in third spot, 0.92 seconds off the pace, pipping Olympic combined champion Ted Ligety of the United States by 0.07 seconds.

Other Swiss skiers were well placed after the first run but failed to squeeze into the top ten – Marc Berthod came 11th and Didier Defago 13th.

Svindal, who was fourth after the opening leg, became the third Norwegian skier to win a giant slalom world title. Lasse Kjus won in 1999 at Vail, Colorado, and Kjetil Andre Aamodt triumphed in 1993 at Morioka, Japan.

Bounce back

Since hitting rock bottom at the 2005 Alpine World Ski Championships in Bormio, Italy, Switzerland’s alpine skiers have bounced back in style. They are now in fourth place in the medals table with five medals (one gold, one silver and three bronzes) after eight races.

Prior to the championships, the 23-year-old Albrecht had never finished on the podium on the World Cup circuit. His best results were two fourth-place finishes: in the slalom in Beaver Creek, Colorado, in December and the combined in Wengen, Switzerland, two years ago.

Cuche, a silver medallist in the super-G at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, has been in good form this season. He is currently leading the standings in the downhill events and has four podium finishes this season, all second places.

Disaster

In a miserable day for the previous all-conquering Austrian team, reigning champion Hermann Maier finished way off the pace in 22nd and Olympic giant slalom champion Benjamin Raich failed to complete his first run after skiing out.

It marked the first time that Maier left the world championships without a medal, and it may have been his last major competition.

“I’m more tired than depressed,” said the 34-year-old Maier, adding that he won’t enter the team event that concludes the championships Sunday.

Another favorite, Bode Miller of the United States, could not capitalize on a promising first run and finished out of the medals in 15th place after a ragged second leg.

swissinfo with agencies

In brief

The 2007 Alpine World Ski Championships are being held in Åre, Sweden until February 18.

The Championships will be the largest winter sport event ever in Sweden, with 350 competitors from 60 nations expected to take part. The Swiss delegation comprises 18 athletes – 10 women and 8 men.

Women’s team: Dominique Gisin, Fränzi Aufdenblatten, Sylviane Berthod, Nadia Styger, Martina Schild, Fabienne Suter, Rabea Grand, Sandra Gini, Tamara Wolf and Catherine Borghi.

Men’s team: Daniel Albrecht, Marc Berthod, Didier Défago, Marc Gini, Ambrosi Hoffmann, Bruno Kernen, Silvan Zurbriggen and Didier Cuche.

Key facts

Selected results for men’s giant slalom:
1. Aksel Lund Svindal (Norway) 2:19,64 min (1:09,67/1:09,97)
2. Daniel Albrecht (Switzerland) 2:20,12 (1:09,44/1:10,68)
3. Didier Cuche (Switzerland) 2:20,56 (1:09,98/1:10,58)
4. Ted Ligety (USA) 2:20,63 (1:10,09/1:10,54)
5. Alberto Schieppati (Italy) 2:20,72 (1:09,91/1:10,81)
6. Truls Ove Karlsen (Norway) 2:21,00 (1:10,19/1:10,81)
7. Kalle Palander (Finland) 2:21,09 (1:10,55/1:10,54)
7. Jean-Philippe Roy (Canada) 2:21,09 (1:10,24/1:10,85)
9. Mitja Valencic (Slovenia) 2:21,11 (1:10,55/1:10,56)
10. Marco Büchel (Liechtenstein) 2:21,26 (1:10,48/1:10,78);