TNT Sports
Kroell on a roll
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Published 10/02/2006 at 13:18 GMT
Klaus Kroell secured himself a place in Austria's downhill team after setting the fastest time in Friday's second training session. The Austrian selectors, suitably impressed by Kroell's performance, have given the 25-year-old the nod for Sunday's downhil
Eurosport
Image credit: TNT Sports
Kroell put in a solid run on the icy Sestrieres slope to clock an impressive time of one minute 49.75 seconds.
After finishing fourth in Thursday's inaugurate training session, the 1999 world junior downhill champion looked confident in his turns as he negotiated the 3.3 km Blanchette course under clear skies in the Italian Alps.
Buder, his rival for the final place on the Austrian team, could only manage ninth place, over a second behind.
Kroell, who has never won a World Cup race, was delighted with his success. "It's a very good course for me and yesterday and today I had perfect runs so we will see on Sunday," he told reporters.
"I like everything about it. It's very fast, big jumps and very interesting from start to finish.
"Everything is possible and so if I have a perfect run, why not (win a medal). My dream was to be at the Olympics and so now I am hoping for a medal."
Compatriot Fritz Strobl, the defending Olympic downhill champion, posted the second fastest time, at '36, while Switzerland's Bruno Kernal came home in third at '38.
Norwegian Kjetil Andre Aamodt, the most decorated Alpine skier in Olympic history, recorded the fourth best time, '77 seconds off the pace of Kroell.
There were loud cheers from local supporters for Italian skiers Kristian Ghedina and slalom specialist Giogio Rocca, while Herman Maier proved as popular as ever.
"Das Monster" Maier approached the packed slope with caution to finish over one and a half seconds in arrears in fifteenth position. Obviously feeling the cold -2° temperatures, Maier completed the exercise with a black scarf over his face.
Current world cup downhill leader Michael Walchhofer, the final piece of the jigsaw in the Austrian team, also took things easy as he recorded only the eighteenth-best time at 1'47.
RALHVES RESTED
After blitzing Thursday's opening session, in-form American Daron Rahlves chose to sit out Friday's run.
Team-mate Bode Miller, like Rahlves sure of his place on Sunday, skied a characteristically aggressive run but looked slightly uncomfortable in the turns on his way to finishing seventh, just shy of a second in arrears.
Miller, the defending world cup champion, said that the Olympic course was best suited to Sunday's downhill race.
"It's going to test the downhillers. It's not a super-technical course so it's not as easy for us (all rounders) to make up time but it's worthy (of the Olympics)," he told reporters.
"There's high speed, it's good terrain and there are some technical turns in there for sure."
Steve Nyman's eleventh place was enough to earn him a birthday appearance in the Olympic downhill. The ecstatic soon-to-be 24-year-old said: "I can relax tomorrow and try different things and maybe find speed in different places for the race on Sunday."
"I wanted the downhill because it's on my birthday," he added. "It's the showboat event - I'm not a showman and don't view myself as that - but it's a big event and probably the most viewers are going to see it.
"And it's the most fun to me, I can just have fun all the way down even if I'm slow."
The USA team selectors said they would decide on the final place after Saturday's final training run. Marco Sullivan and Scott MacCartney, twelfth and thirteenth respectively on Friday, look set to do battle for the final starting berth.
Britain's Finlay Michel finished over two seconds down on Kroell's landmark time in twenty-third place.
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