Cuche wins downhill marred by bad crash

KITZBUEHEL, Austria (Reuters) - Ten years after his first World Cup victory in Kitzbuehel, Swiss Didier Cuche won the most prestigious downhill of the men's season on the Streif on Saturday.

However, his victory, with a 0.27-second lead over both American Bode Miller and Austria's Mario Scheiber, was overshadowed by a serious accident.

American Scott Macartney crashed on the final jump, fell on his back and lost his helmet. The skier from Crystal Mountain, who turned 30 on Saturday, lost consciousness and was treated for concussion.

Macartney was taken to hospital in Innsbruck. "He was placed in the neurological surveillance ward. At this point, no surgery is necessary," a statement from doctors said.

Macartney obtained one of his two World Cup podium placings last month in Val Gardena, when Cuche won his previous victory of the season in a super-G.

The Streif has been extremely fast and icy all week and several crashes occurred in training. On Saturday, organizers were forced to shorten the course by 100 meters because of gale-force winds at the top.

DIFFERENT COURSE

It took experience to master the course and the 33-year-old Cuche, who was third in a super-G on Saturday, handled the situation perfectly to increase his lead in the downhill World Cup standings over Miller.

"It was a dream to win on the Streif," said Cuche, whose victory 10 years ago happened on a different course. "It's a shame we could not start from the top but it was too windy.

"I don't remember much of my race as I went down it like I was in a trance," he added. "The course was very bumpy but with my podium yesterday I was confident my day would come soon."

Miller, who had won the two previous downhills in Bormio and Wengen, lost too much time near the top to make it three.

"I'm really frustrated because I did not execute my race the way I had planned. I skied well in the final part but it was not enough," the American said.

He criticized the layout of the course. "We saw in practice that the final jump was dangerous and was placed there only for the sake of the show. And the result is that one of my mates got injured."

The Kitzbuehel program ends on Sunday with a slalom and a combined.

(Editing by Clare Fallon)