Aksel Lund Svindal has been flying in training for his last race, the World Championship downhill. (Photo: AFP)
Norway's Olympic champion Aksel Lund Svindal will bid for a golden send-off in Saturday's downhill before retiring from competitive skiing.
Svindal, 36, has been one of the stars of the ski circuit with 36 victories and 80 podium places in 17 seasons on the World Cup.
He is also a former two-time overall World Cup champion (2007, 2009), a five-time world champion in downhill, giant slalom, and super combined, and also won Olympic super-G gold in 2010.
AFP looks at five things to know ahead of Saturday's race.
- Svindal nerves -
"Everyone's a little emotional and a little nervous because it's the world championships but so far I'm trying to keep it cool and we'll see how cool we keep it this weekend," Svindal said. "I've just got to keep it together for those two minutes on Saturday. I want to try to ski fast." Svindal confirmed that Norway's Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit would be in attendance for his final hurrah. "He was there for the Olympics too. We had him up for the pre-race slope inspection, he's a cool guy," Svindal said.
- 'Attacking Vikings' -
Svindal aside, Norway will have three other members of its 'Atacking Vikings' team ready to line up and knock Svindal off any perch. Kjetil Jansrud, who won Olympic silver behind Svindal in Pyeongchang, is skiing with two broken fingers in his left hand. After disappointing in the super-G, Jansrud, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and Adrian Smiseth Sejersted will all be looking to shine in front of royalty and a partisan Nordic crowd.
- Austria, Italy rivalry -
Norwegian dominance will be tested by a strong trio of Austrians and an Italian duo who can always threaten on their day. Joint super-G silver medallist Vincent Kriechmayr and his Austrian teammates Matthias Mayer, the 2014 Olympic downhill champion, and Hannes Reichelt have all looked comfortable on the Olympia course. Kitzbuehel downhill winner Dominik Paris, who also claimed super-G gold here on Tuesday, and Christof Innerhofer will fly the flag for Italy, while Germany's Josef Ferstl, Kitzbuehel super-G winner, and Switzerland's defending world champion Beat Feuz cannot be ruled out of at least pushing for the podium.
- 'Grandpa' Clarey hits form -
France's Johan Clarey has hit form at just the right time. Two years older than Svindal at 38, the Frenchman became the oldest world medallist when he claimed joint silver in the super-G here. "I'm not 38 in my head, I'm still 25!" he joked. "I haven't had an easy career, I've had loads of injuries and not a lot of luck." Indeed, Clarey has had 18 top five finishes on the World Cup but only five podiums. Clarey leads a strong French quartet into the downhill: Adrien Theaux (5th) and Brice Roger (7th) performed well in the super-G, Maxence Muzaton filling out the foursome.
- Blue riband event -
The self-proclaimed blue riband event of alpine skiing, the rules for which were drawn up by Briton Sir Arnold Lunn in 1921, is a bone-rattling, danger-laden race which regularly features gruesome crashes. Dressed only in figure-hugging catsuits, back braces and helmets, the skiing speed kings hurtle down long, steep and icy slopes at speeds sometimes topping 140kph, with an altitude drop of 800-1,100 metres. The margin of error over the one-run race is tiny for skiers who put their trust into physical form and technical proficiency on the two skis strapped to their feet. Given the risk involved in downhill racing, skiers have the chance to try out the course three times in training and enjoy regular pre-race course inspections.