ALPINE:

Maze leads downhill training for World Cup Finals at Lenzerheide

March 14, 2011 

LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland — Tina Maze of Slovenia was fastest in a training run for the final women's World Cup downhill this season, and Lindsey Vonn took a cautious first look at the course Monday.

Maze timed 1 minute, 26.56 seconds on the Silvano Beltrametti track, 0.62 seconds ahead of Marie Marchand-Arvier of France. Lara Gut of Switzerland was third, trailing Maze by 0.78.

Vonn, who has already won the downhill title, was 4.96 back as the slowest of 23 starters.

Vonn begins the four-race World Cup Finals week 23 points behind good friend Maria Riesch in the overall standings. A victory is worth 100 points.

The American, who is chasing her fourth straight overall title, closed the gap at the weekend — helped by a career-best giant slalom result, finishing third at Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic.

Riesch is seeking her first title after being runner-up to Vonn the past two seasons. However, the 26-year-old German faltered by collecting just two points in two weekend races.

Riesch was 1.28 back in sixth on Monday, which could be the only practice for the downhill scheduled Wednesday.

Race organizers and team coaches are weighing whether to protect the course in warm weather by canceling a second run on Tuesday, when the men take priority for their mandatory first practice run.

Monday's training was run in sunshine and temperatures of 4 degrees Celsius (39 Fahrenheit).

— The Canadian Press contributed to this report

Lenzerheide women's World Cup downhill training results