Jansrud leads Nyman in final Val Gardena downhill training
VAL GARDENA, Italy (AP) — Aiming to extend his perfect start to the speed season, Kjetil Jansrud of Norway led the final training session for the classic downhill on the Saslong course on Thursday.
Jansrud was a slim 0.05 seconds ahead of three-time Val Gardena winner Steven Nyman of the United States, and 0.12 in front of Max Franz of Austria.
Jansrud won a super-G and downhill in Val d'Isere, France, this month.
Jansrud's Norwegian teammate, Aksel Lund Svindal, who swept the super-G and downhill in Val Gardena last year, was sixth, 0.32 behind.
The downhill on Saturday is the first of the European classics that also include Wengen, Switzerland; Kitzbuehel, Austria; and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany — all of which have been World Cup stops since the 1960s.
