Kitzbuehel set for showcase downhill

American Steven Nyman topped Wednesday's first training, clocking 1min 57.25sec to finish ahead of Switzerland's Beat Feuz and Frenchman Johan Clarey.

"You really have to stay on the ball here, be constantly engaged. I feel I am ready to race," said Nyman.

Last year's winner Peter Fill of Italy summed up the descent of the "Streif" piste on the Hahnenkamm mountain.

"I love coming to Kitzbühel as it is always an enjoyable weekend," he said.

"The racecourse itself is not fun, but a huge challenge. I have many positive memories after my win last year, so am highly motivated."

Crashes have occurred aplenty down the race course, with skiers touching motorway-cruising speeds of 130kmh (80mph), but Fill said it was expected.

"Falls are part and parcel of our sport and if you look back over previous races, there were certainly no more incidents as in other years," he said.

"There are, of course, more pleasant things to do than to stand by and watch as Hannes Reichelt or Axel Lund Svindal crash out," as they did during last year's downhill, the latter then the overall standings leader and winner of the super-G 24 hours previously.

Fill backed Reichelt and compatriot Dominik Paris as good bets for the weekend, seasoned pros adept at negotiating the notoriously taxing Streif.

Norway's Svindal, five-time world champion and 2010 Olympic super-G gold medallist, will be missing however after undergoing surgery on a detached meniscus this week.

"The good part is that there are great chances of this being much better next winter. The bad part is that it's back to the crutches and no more skiing this winter," the 34-year-old wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of him in a hospital bed.

Svindal injured cruciate ligaments in his right knee during that fall in last year's Kitzbuehel downhill which saw him also ruled out for the season.

Despite making a successful comeback when he claimed second in the super-G in Val d'Isere in early December, and then a second in the Val Gardena downhill, Svindal admitted his knee was plaguing him so much he skipped Wengen.

"Together with the medical team I took the decision to do another surgery. What they found was a meniscus that was no longer attached to the bone. That's no good in a downhill course," Svindal said.

Another absentee will be American Ted Ligety, who has undergone back surgery in a bid to correct nerve pain in his left leg. His absence will be sorely felt at next month's world championships in St Moritz where he was due to defend his three world giant slalom titles.

Current leader of the overall standings is Marcel Hirscher, the Austrian chasing a sixth consecutive crystal globe for the most consistent all-round skier.

Hirscher is undecided on whether to start Friday's super-G, while he will skip Saturday's downhill to focus on Sunday's slalom.

"Whether or not I start the super-G I'll decide during my training," he said. "There are plans for another super G-training as well as two slalom sessions.

"Then once again we'll be ready to rumble! With all the racing highlights and obligations that the spectacle in Kitzbuehel brings with it."

Schedule (all times GMT and subject to change)

Friday: super-G (1030)

Saturday: Downhill (1030)

Sunday: Slalom (0930, 1230)