Alpine skiing: Austrian Sterz tops women's downhill training

Austrian Regina Sterz topped times in Wednesday's first training run for the women's downhill, scheduled for the weekend.

Sterz timed 1min 53.44sec down the 3km-long Streicher course to finish 0.46sec ahead of Norway's Lotte Smiseth Sejersted, with Swiss racer Fraenzi Aufdenblatten in third at 0.51sec.

"The training run was very good for me," said Sterz. "I hope that in the next training runs and the race proper I can do the same."

Slovenia's Tina Maze, who on Tuesday won the world super-G title here in the opening event of the two-week worlds -- albeit on a different slope -- was fourth, a further 0.03sec adrift but left satisfied with her run and course conditions.

"It was a nice course and I'm happy I did a nice run -- not at 100 percent," said Maze.

Austria's reigning world downhill champion Elisabeth Goergl came in fifth at 0.62sec, just two hundredths ahead of compatriot Andrea Fischbacher.

"The track's in good condition," Goergl said, after the Planai course used for the super-G had come under fire for variable snow conditions.

"The lower temperatures were very important to get good snow and to have a good hard piste. It's very hard at the bottom.

"It's getting better and better every day because it's staying cold and I hope for some good races."

Given the risk involved in downhill racing, skiers have the chance to try out the course three times in training and enjoy regular pre-race course inspections.

The women get another outing on the course on Thursday and then Saturday ahead of Sunday's actual downhill, which follows Friday's combined event, comprising the aggregate times from one slalom and one downhill run.

The world championships got off to a terrible start for the women when US star Lindsey Vonn had a horror crash in the super-G which saw her suffer a badly injured knee that requires surgery, bringing a premature end to her season.

Filling her void for the US women's team was Julia Mancuso, who won a bronze in the super-G and admitted to still feeling the after-affects.

"I was tired from yesterday," Mancuso said after finishing way down the field more than four seconds off Sterz's time.

"Definitely, there's a chance I can do good here so I have to re-focus and get some more rest."

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