Cuche takes super-G at Crans-Montana

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Defending World Cup super-giant slalom champion Didier Cuche picked up his first super-G title of the season Friday in Switzerland.

Cuche, skiing in his home country, used a strong finish at Crans Montana to catch Canadian skier Jan Hudec on the very bottom of the course.

Split times indicated Cuche made up about 0.5 seconds near the end of the run. Cuche was timed in 1 minute, 33.11 seconds while Hudec was at 1:33.27. Austrian Benjamin Raich came in third with a time of 1:33.32.

"I think I was able to find the fastest and cleanest line in the lower section, somehow it just started feeling right and I'm so happy that brought me the victory," Cuche said.

Cuche has three downhill victories this season but Friday marked his first in the super-G. He is second in the super-G standings with 221 points. Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal leads the discipline with 259 points after a ninth-place finish Friday. Swiss skier Beat Feuz (182 points) is third and Hudec (165) fourth.

Cuche is fifth in the overall standings with 761 points. Marcel Hirscher, from Austria, leads the overall list with 1,055, just 12 points up on Croatia's Ivica Kostelic.