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Walchhofer wants another cup crown
 Walchhofer says that the course at Aare should suit his style AARE, Sweden (Reuters) -- Michael Walchhofer looks more than ready to capture his second consecutive World Cup downhill title on Wednesday in the opening competition of the 2006 finals. Austria's Olympic silver medalist clocked the fastest time in the only training run held on Tuesday in excellent weather conditions on a demanding 2,922-meter course. Walchhofer sped down the challenging "Olympia" run in one minute, 44.56 seconds, a mere 0.08 seconds faster than Italian veteran Kristian Ghedina. Daron Rahlves of the U.S. was third 0.4 seconds behind Walchhofer and 0.03 ahead of 2002 Olympic champion Fritz Strobl. "I feel confident, this course is really nice and should suit my style," said 2003 world champion Walchhofer, who leads the downhill standings with 498 points, 57 more than Austrian Strobl and 90 ahead of Rahlves. "The season is ending but I have no problem remaining focused and motivated. I won some big races this winter and it would be great to get another Crystal cup after collecting an Olympic silver medal last month." Ghedina, who won the downhill in the 1990 finals at Aare, said: "It's nice to be back here, I have good memories from this place. "It's an interesting course, but if things go the way I hope, I should be history in a few months. I'm discussing now with various teams to start a new career in car racing next summer," added the 37-year-old, who is retiring at the end of the season. Briton Finlay Mickel, participating in his first World Cup finals, was fifth equal with Switzerland's Didier Cuche. France's Olympic champion Antoine Deneriaz was eighth, well clear of other leading downhill specialists like Hermann Maier, who was 13th, and Bode Miller. Deneriaz, who had not used his downhill skis since his triumph at the Turin Games last month, said: "I have been celebrating my win a lot during the past weeks. "The celebration at home was certainly a highlight. More than 15,000 people showed up in our small village where only 600 persons live normally. "I'm curious to see how I'll feel tomorrow. I like this course and I'll do my best to reach the podium" Austrian Maier won the downhill and the giant slalom races and his third overall title in his last appearance in Aare in March 2001. Miller, overall World Cup champion last year, was only 18th in his first timed training run since the Olympics. 
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