Austrian skier Michael Walchhofer snatched a thrilling victory in the men's World Cup downhill in Bormio, Italy, today.
The downhill champion of the past two seasons could not have provided a more thrilling finale as he won by just one-hundredth of a second.
Walchhofer's time of one minute 51.90 seconds edged Switzerland's Didier Cuche into second place, with another Austrian, Mario Scheiber, taking up the final podium position.
The win for Walchhofer lifted him into third place in the men's World Cup downhill standings, behind first-placed Cuche and Marco Buechel of Liechtenstein.
Cuche's second place finish helped him into second place in the World Cup overall standings, tied with American Bode Miller, still some way behind Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal who finished 14th in Bormio.
Meanwhile, British skier Finlay Mickel could only manage a time of one minute 55.56 seconds, which saw him finish in 46th place.
Spectators enjoying their
ski holiday in Bormio were fortunate to experience the incredible downhill drama as the race had originally been scheduled to take place in Val d'Isere.
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