Hometown hero

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WENGEN, Switzerland -- Switzerland's new skiing star Beat Feuz won the World Cup downhill on the Lauberhorn course Saturday, as veteran teammate Didier Cuche never threatened in his home classic.

Feuz came down the longest course on the World Cup tour in two minutes 35.31 seconds for a victory that gave him the lead in the downhill standings in his breakout season.

"It's unbelievable to win this race in front of the Swiss fans," said the 24-year-old Feuz, who was second in Friday's super-combined after dominating the downhill leg.

Austria's Hannes Reichelt was 0.44 seconds back in second. Christof Innerhofer of Italy trailed Feuz by 0.49 in third.

Erik Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Que., finished tied for eighth with Austria's Romed Baumann -- the best result the Canadian has had on the longest course on the World Cup circuit.

"For me to walk away with a top 10, I'm extremely satisfied," said Guay, the reigning world downhill champion. "It wasn't a bad run. I had some very good sections and also some sections I think I could clean up and make some speed out of. Generally I feel like my skiing is progressing.

"It's a great venue. It's a lot of fun to come here every year."

Jan Hudec of Calgary was 22nd, while Ben Thomsen of Invermere, B.C., was 37th, and Robbie Dixon of Whistler, B.C., finished 43rd.

Bode Miller of the United States seemed poised for victory but lost speed near the bottom and finished 0.77 back in fifth. Miller led the downhill standings going into this race, but slipped to second, 41 points behind Feuz.

"I think (Feuz) is one of the best, well-rounded dynamos we have seen," Miller told The Associated Press. "It's not surprising to see him on the top today after the way he skied yesterday."

Miller said he took what proved to be the wrong line in the Hannegschuss section two minutes into his run, where skiers reach speeds of 150 kilometres per hour.

"It's a bummer. It probably cost me the race there," the two-time Lauberhorn winner said. "I swung out left and got right into all these bumps and my skis went a little bit crazy. You are too tired to make a good recovery.

"If you know a section you should trust yourself and I didn't do that today. It definitely cost me."

The 37-year-old Cuche, racing immediately after Feuz, appeared cautious on the 4.42-kilometre track and trailed from the first intermediate time check, finishing 1.44 behind.

Cuche, a three-time runner-up here, appeared dejected when he crossed the line and barely managed a rueful smile for fans chanting his name.

The popular racer's long-standing status as Switzerland's top downhill racer, with four World Cup titles in the glamour discipline in the past five years, seems to be under threat from Feuz.

Feuz leads the downhill points race after finishing runner-up to Cuche at Lake Louise, Alta., and behind Miller at Beaver Creek, Colo.

He climbed to third in the overall standings behind Marcel Hirscher and Ivica Kostelic after his third World Cup victory, adding to wins in downhill at Kvitfjell, Norway, last season and the super-G last month at Val Gardena, Italy.