THE SIDELINES : Bournissen Wins Downhill Race

Chantal Bournissen of Switzerland, fresh from her victory in the World Championships, raced to her second World Cup title of the season today, beating Carole Merle by 0.07 of a second in a women’s downhill.

Bournissen was timed in 1 minute, 37.01 seconds on the icy 2,804-meter-long Kandahar course.

Merle was timed in 1:37.08 and Veronika Wallinger of Austria was third in 1:37.45.

World downhill champion Petra Kronberger of Austria missed today’s race because of a knee injury suffered at the World Championships. She held to her World Cup leads in both the overall and downhill standings despite her absence.

At Val Di Femme, Italy, Elena Valbe of the Soviet Union took the lead early and cruised to victory in the women’s 15-kilometer cross-country race today at the World Nordic Ski Championships. Valbe beat runner-up Trude Dybendahl of Norway by 1 minute, 3.9 seconds. It was one of the biggest victory margins in a women’s championship race.