BORMIO, Italy, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Fritz Strobl won the men's World Cup downhill Saturday, leading Austria to its second sweep of the podium in as many days.
Strobl, a perpetual second-place finisher at the Italian resort -- including in the previous day's downhill--blitzed down the bumpy 2,913-meter Stelvio course in one minute, 55.00 seconds to finally clinch a victory here.
It marked the sixth consecutive win for Austria in downhill races in Bormio since 1997 and the seventh by Austrian skiers in World Cup races this season.
Austrians claimed the top four places, with Josef Strobl, World Cup overall leader Stephan Eberharter and Klaus Kroell completing the sweep.
Josef Strobl, no relation to his victorious teammate, crossed second in 1:55.19, followed by Eberharter, who climbed the third step of the podium for the second day in a row with a time of 1:55.69.
Eberharter, who has won two downhills and a super-G this season, was in a position to take the victory but made two costly mistakes. The 32-year-old Austrian, who finished last season runner-up to teammate Hermann Maier in both the World Cup overall and downhill rankings, angrily slammed his pole against the safety padding in the finish area.
But Eberharter still padded his advantage atop the overall World Cup standings, which he leads with 700 points after 15 races. American Bode Miller, a technical specialist, sits second trailing by 280 points.
Kroell, starting back in 19th, crossed fourth in 1:55.74. Switzerland's Franco Cavegn and Bruno Kernen finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Chad Fleischer was the top American, placing 10th --1.22 off the pace.
Christian Greber, who won Friday's downhill and was aiming for a rare double victory, finished seventh. The Austrian was still recovering from news Friday afternoon of his cousin's death in an avalanche.
Fritz Strobl had finished second in a downhill in 1999 and a super-G last year. His World Cup victory here marked the sixth of his career and the first of the season.
Strobl's top results this week boosted his chances of qualifying for the Salt Lake City Olympics this February with a tough Austrian team.
