Cuche wins second straight men's downhill

CHAMONIX, France, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Swiss veteran Didier Cuche won his second consecutive World Cup men's downhill Saturday with a convincing 0.67-second margin of victory at Chamonix, France.

The 36-year-old Cuche was clocked at 1 minute, 58.91seconds on the La Verte De Houches course, besting Italian rookie Doiminik Paris, who had not finished better than 14th in a World Cup race prior to Saturday.

Cuche moved into second place in the overall World Cup standings behind Croatia's Ivica Kostelic, who finished 28th with a time of 2:01.16.

"I really caught from top-to-bottom the line that I was inspecting in the morning," said Cuche. "I had so much confidence from the victory in Kitzbuhel to not think too much and just ski the line I wanted."

Austria's Klaus Kroell, took third with a 1:59.79. Travis Ganong was the top American in 36th place. Bode Miller and Ted Ligety took the day off.

The action at Chamonix continues Sunday with the men's combined.