Austrians set for crowns

Raich holds a paper-thin, three-point lead over Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal in the men's standings while his girlfriend Schild stands a healthy 70 points ahead of her nearest rival in the women's.

Both skiers excel in the technical slalom and giant slalom disciplines which will be held this final weekend and the smart money will be on the duo to be celebrating together when the skiing circus packs up on Sunday.

"I really hope it's over on Saturday," said the 25-year-old Schild who, like Raich, has surpassed expectations in the speed events staged so far in this Swiss resort.

"It's good for the fans that it's still close for the overall but I want the tension to be over," echoed Raich, who gained crucial points in finishing 13th and second respectively in the downhill and super-G on Wednesday and Thursday.

Schild's second and third places in the two speed events here were a huge surprise and dealt crushing blows to her title rivals Nicole Hosp and American Julia Mancuso.

Schild has been virtually unbeatable in slalom this season and on Saturday could equal Janica Kostelic's record of eight slalom victories in a season.

In doing so, she would almost certainly clinch her first overall title.

Swede Anja Paerson, who won the season's final super-G on Thursday and was the overall champion in 2005, believes Schild will be a worthy champion.

"She's looking good for the next couple of races and should win the overall," Paerson said. "If you want to be one of the big skiers you need to mature into the speed events and that's what she's doing."

Raich, who proved himself the best all round skier last season when he won the World Cup, could find himself taken to a nervous finale by Svindal.

The Norwegian has not put a ski out of line here, completing a sweep of the downhill and super-G to increase his points tally going into the weekend by 200 points.

Such a haul could have given him a healthy lead over Raich going into Saturday's giant slalom, an event he describes as his favourite, but Raich chipped in with 100 points of his own from the speed races.

"Benni has the advantage now for sure," said Svindal, who has won races in four of the sport's five disciplines this winter. "But I want to be in a position to win the overall for many years to come because that's the ultimate recognition."

The giant slalom title will also be decided on Saturday, with Raich currently just three points above world champion Svindal. Raich can also win the slalom World Cup title on Sunday by overhauling compatriot Mario Matt.

With Schild already guaranteed the women's slalom title, Hosp will hope to claim the giant slalom crown on Sunday. She holds a 16-point lead over Finn Tanja Poutiainen.

Should Hosp finish the job it would mean the Austrian women's team would sweep the board of all the World Cup honours for the first time since 1999.

Friday in Lenzerheide is dedicated to the Nations' Cup team event which has no bearing on the individual placings in the World Cup.