Skiing: Kroll wins in Wengen

Klaus Kroll clinched his third World Cup success with victory in the men's downhill race at Wengen on Saturday.

Austrian dashes Swiss hopes of home win

Klaus Kroll clinched his third World Cup success with victory in the men's downhill race at Wengen on Saturday. The Austrian dashed any hopes Swiss fans had of a home win, finishing the 4,450m course in two minutes 31.28 seconds, ahead of local duo Didier Cuche and Carlo Janka. The triumph for the 30-year-old comes two years after his last win at Kvitfjell, Norway in March 2009. "I wasn't thinking about victory," Kroll admitted. "I was tired during the training runs. After my fall in Bormio I wasn't feeling too good. "I really like Wengen but the fact is that up until now I've never had good results here. "It's every downhiller's dream to win a classic such as Wengen or Kitzbuehel. "I didn't have very good training runs this week and I didn't really believe it at the end." After taking the runners-up spot in 2007 and 2008, Cuche failed to claim a home victory for the third time at the resort by just 0.14sec. Janka, who was runner-up in Friday's super-combined, achieved his second podium finish in as many days. "I gave everything but couldn't give any more," he said. "At the start I felt the tiredness in my legs from the super-combined. "It's definitely one of my favourite courses, having managed to nail five podium places in six outings. For a Swiss, it's an honour to take part in this festival of skiing." Croatian Ivica Kostelic heads the overall World Cup standings ahead of Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal, while Austria's Michael Walchhofer maintains the downhill lead despite being unable to break into the top 10 in Wengen. Germany's Stephan Keppler, 27, was evacuated by helicopter after crashing out during his run. Result
1. Klaus Kroell (Austria) 2 mins 31.28 secs
2. Didier Cuche (Switzerland) 2:31.42
3. Carlo Janka (Switzerland) 2:31.67
4. Andrej Jerman (Slovenia) 2:31.72
5. Werner Heel (Italy) 2:32.53
6. Romed Baumann (Austria) 2:32.56
7. Christof Innerhofer (Italy) 2:32.66
8. Bode Miller (U.S.) 2:32.71
9. Mario Scheiber (Austria) 2:32.98
10. Hans Olsson (Sweden) 2:33.04 Downhill standings
1. Michael Walchhofer (Austria) 269 points
2. Silvan Zurbriggen (Switzerland) 250
3. Klaus Kroell (Austria) 190 Overall standings
1. Ivica Kostelic (Croatia) 626 points
2. Aksel Lund Svindal (Norway) 511
3. Silvan Zurbriggen (Switzerland) 459