WHISTLER, British Columbia (AP) – Austria’s Hannes Reichelt won his first World Cup giant slalom Saturday on the same course that will host the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

The third to last skier of the day, Reichelt had to wait for Switzerland’s Didier Cuche and Austria’s Benjamin Raich, the leader after the first run, to take their turns before he could celebrate.

Cuche finished second in 2:37.82 and Raich was third in 2:37.87. American Ted Ligety was fourth in 2:37.95 and Bode Miller was seventh (2:38.64). The top Canadian finisher was John Kucera, who was fifth.

It’s been a good week for Reichelt. The 27-year-old was second in the super-giant slalom.

and already is looking forward to returning to Whistler for the Olympics.

“I know that slope if perfect for me,” he said. “I can be fast here and that gives me a lot of confidence. It’s good to know you can be fast on this slope in two years, but a lot can happen.”

Raich, the Olympic giant slalom champion, led after the first run with a time of 1:20.53. Cuche was second in 1:20.73 while Reichelt was third in 1:20.79.

Raich maintained his lead in the World Cup giant slalom standings with 308 points. Ligety is second with 285 points.

Miller held his lead in the overall standings with 1,103 points. Raich is second with 1,058 and Cuche has 998.

This week’s races will be the only chance World Cup skiers have to ride the Olympic course in competition before the Games.

The Vancouver Olympic Games Organizing Committee spent $27.6 million upgrading the Creekside facility for the Olympics. The last successful World Cup event in Whistler was in 1995.

The International Ski Federation abandoned Whistler as a World Cup stop in 1998 after three consecutive years of races being canceled due to adverse snow and weather conditions. Organizers had tried to stage those races before Christmas.

AP-ES-02-23-08 1959EST