On Wednesday, the first of two downhill training runs took place in Val Gardena/Gröden under wonderful sunny conditions. The American Travis Ganong clocked the fastest time.

The 30-year-old, who has never placed better than seventh on the Saslong, crossed the finish line after 1:57.69 minutes and clearly relegated the Austrian Max Franz and his own team mate Bryce Bennett to second and third places, respectively. Local hero Christof Innerhofer from Gais finished fourth, while US Thomas Biesemeyer finished fifth. Record winner Aksel Lund Svindal, who has already triumphed six times in Val Gardena/Gröden, did not reveal too much and finished in the back of the standings with a gap of more than three seconds as well as a gate mistake. Dominik Paris from Ulten in South Tyrol also kept a low profile - he finished 54th.

The second training run on the Saslong is scheduled for Thursday. Start is again at 11:45 am.

The complete result list of the first downhill training can be found here.