Calgary's Jan Hudec skied the fastest time and led three Canadians in the top 15 Friday in the final training run for this weekend's opening World Cup downhill race in Lake Louise, Alta.

Hudec, 26, posted a time of one minute, 42.72 seconds to edge out Austria's Klaus Kroell (1:42.80) and American Bode Miller (1:42.82), the 2005 downhill world champion.

Jan Hudec navigates the course in Lake Louise en route to posting the fastest time in Friday's downhill training run.
(Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

John Kucera of Calgary, who placed second in last year's Lake Louise super-G, finished 10th in Friday's downhill practice with a time of 1:43.15.

Erik Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Que., — a first-time World Cup winner at last season's downhill in Garmisch, Germany — was 14th in 1:43.24.

Vancouver's Manuel Osborne-Paradis, who topped all Canadians by coming in fourth in Thursday's training session, was 18th in 1:43.47.

Robbie Dixon of North Vancouver, B.C., was 33rd in 1:44.01; Francois Bourque of New Richmond, Que., was 48th in 1:44.43, Calgary's Gareth Sine was 72nd in 1:45.55, Calgary's Brady Leman was 77nd in 1:45.68, and Louis-Pierre Hélie of Berthierville, Que., was 82nd in 1:47.51.

Hudec won a silver medal in downhill at last year's alpine world championships in Are, Sweden, and had his first ever top-10 result in 2004 at Lake Louise when he finished seventh, after starting 62nd.

The Lake Louise downhill is set for Saturday, with a super-G race to follow on Sunday.

Panorama, B.C., is hosting a women's World Cup giant slalom on Saturday, and a slalom on Sunday.

With files from the Canadian Press