Raich leads, Rocca out

Austria's Raich leads Finland's Kalle Palander and Kentaro Minagawa of Japan, with just 0.07 seconds between the provisional podium.

In a run marred by flat light and tricky snow conditions, a staggering total of nine racers were disqualified out of the first 22 to leave the start hut. The most high profile casualty was, of course, Rocca - the runaway World Cup slalom leader and darling of the home Italian crowds.

After a tentative start, Rocca looked to have regained his composure when his skis crossed, sending the 30-year-old crashing to the ground.

"I went wrong. It's my fault. I'm sorry, it's a pity," he told reporters. "I made a mistake. I didn't even have time to realise what had happened to me because I already had my face in the snow.

"I may have tweaked my knee," the 30-year-old Rocca added in the finish area. "The amount of force that came through the ski was much more than I expected. I have another four year wait until my next chance at a medal," the Italian added, indicating that he does not plan to retire in the foreseeable future.

First run pace setter, Raich - who completed the Colle course at Sestrières in a time of 53.37 seconds - said that he was not too pleased with his run.

"I tried, but it was not easy. The conditions are very difficult, and I didn't have as much grip as I expected," he said. "I am not very happy with my run, but it is still the best time so far."

Raich, who leads Palander by just 0.01 seconds and Minagawa by 0.07, was amongst many racers who complained about the decision to hold the run in the mid-afternoon. On the World Cup circuit both slalom runs are traditionally held under floodlights once night has fallen or in the morning when the light is sharper.

But the Turin organisers decided to stage the first run at 15:00CET, just when the light is most unpredictable. "It was not very easy with the light," agreed Raich. "It's not day or night."

Austrian compatriot Rainer Schoenfelder, seventh after the first run at 0.66 seconds, shared Raich's feelings.

"The light is very low, very dark," he said. "Hopefully I can do better in the second run, but the problem was the light. We shouldn't be racing a night time slalom in the afternoon."

Finland's Palander hopes to emulate the example of compatriot Tanja Poutiainen, who took silver in Friday's women's giant slalom to become the first Finnish racer in history to win an Olympic Alpine medal.

Third-placed Minagawa is in a great position to become the first Japanese Alpine skier to win an Olympic medal since Chiharu Igaya took a silver medal in the 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo Games.

But it is not just the top three who are in with a shout: Austria's Reinfried Herbst is fourth at 0.18, Canada's Thomas Grandi fifth at 0.27 and Andre Myhrer of Sweden lies in sixth at 0.58. Any of the top six, along with Schoenfelder, looks to be in a chance of a medal come the second run at 18:30CET.

Gone, however, are any further medal chances for the USA Alpine team after both Bode Miller and Ted Ligety straddled innocuous gates on their way to disqualification. While it will come as a disappointment to Ligety, the youngster can at least close his eyes and think of his unexpected combined gold medal won last week.

For Miller, the latest set-back marks another failure to win an Olympic medal: Miller entered five disciplines with high hopes, he leaves Turin empty handed.