Hannes Reichelt leads from start to win World Cup downhill
Canadian skier Erik Guay did not race after crashing on Friday
Hannes Reichelt led from the start to win a downhill race for his first World Cup victory of the season on Saturday.
The Austrian went first and completed the Kandahar course in 1 minute, 53.83 seconds, beating Italy's Peter Fill by 0.16 and Switzerland's Beat Feuz by 0.52.
Dominik Paris of Italy was fourth, 0.76 back, ahead of Kjetil Jansrud of Norway.
"It was a good decision tactically to take the No. 1," said Reichelt, who could also have chosen bibs 17 or 19. "With the numbers further back, it's even harder."
The 36-year-old Reichelt is the first skier to win a downhill World Cup with the No. 1 bib since Christof Innerhofer in Bormio in 2008.
"I knew in Kitzbuehel and yesterday that, if I made it down without any mistakes, I'd surely be up front if I ski normally. It's the art of finding the happy medium between giving it gas and going safely, not risking everything without a thought. It worked out perfectly," Reichelt said of his 12th World Cup win overall. "It's very good for the confidence with regard to the world championships."
The super-G world champion added: "I've now gone down the course twice. You have to have enough confidence in yourself to know how the course will develop," the super-G world champion said.
Friday's winner Travis Ganong finished 1.31 seconds off the pace in 12th.
Canadian skier Erik Guay did not race after crashing on Friday, while teammate Manny Osbouren-Paradis finished in 28th.
There were no major crashes in contrast to the day before when Valentin Giraud-Moine and Steven Nyman were airlifted to the local hospital in Garmisch with serious knee injuries.
Giraud-Moine dislocated both knees while Nyman's season was also ended. Guillermo Fayed of France also suffered a knee injury. Changes were made to the course for Saturday.
A giant slalom race is scheduled for Sunday.