Cuche finally finds winning formula

By Steve Keating

LAKE LOUISE, Alberta (Reuters) - Didier Cuche is not exactly sure how or why his ski racing career is hitting top gear when the 35-year-old Swiss should be slowing down, but he is certainly enjoying the ride.

Cuche became the oldest man to win a World Cup downhill in Saturday's season opener but it was no real shock to see the Swiss standing atop the podium amid his spectacular late career renaissance.

Cuche has made plenty of trips to the podium since arriving on the World Cup scene 16 years ago but most of the time he made it only as far as the second step, finishing runner-up 23 times.

Over the last two seasons, however, Cuche has been a more frequent visitor to the top spot, winning his first world championship gold medal in the super-G while opening up the current campaign with wins in his first two events.

"It's kind of hard to explain because there are so many different things to come together," Cuche told reporters.

"We have a really good coach staff and I am sure my equipment change helped a lot -- it matched as soon as I was on them (skis).

"My service man is crazy the work he does. He is so precise and works so many hours a day. You have to ski technically good but if you don't have a ski that is fast it is hard to win.

"The biggest thing is I am feeling confident now and we will see what happens in the next days and weeks."