World and Olympic Super-G champion Aksel Lund Svindal said Saturday that the Rosa Khutor 2014 Olympic ski slopes are "very, very good," but need work before the Games.
"The mountain is very, very good. I think with some work for the Olympics, this will be - it's already a good downhill course - but it will be a great downhill course for the Olympics," the 2010 Vancouver gold medalist and four-time world champion said.
Svindal spoke after Saturday's World Cup downhill run in Sochi, where the 29-year-old Norwegian finished 13th.
It's the first time the World Cup tour has rolled into Russia, and a key test of how preparations are going for the 2014 Winter Games.
"With the experience you guys gain now, I think this will be a tough downhill course but also a very good downhill course."
Didier Cuche, the 1998 Nagano Super-G silver medalist, echoed Svindal's comments.
"It is really a challenging course, the mountain is very nice," the Swiss said after finishing 12th.
Cuche's compatriot Beut Feuz won Saturday's downhill in 2 minutes, 14.1 seconds ahead of Canada's Benjamin Thomsen (2:14.3) and Frenchman Adrien Theaux (2:14.69).
American Bode Miller, who criticized the downhill course earlier this week for its twists and turns at the top, was edged out into fourth, posting 2:14.71.
Rookie skier Thomsen disagreed with Miller's assessment of the course.
«I hear a lot of guys saying it's too tight and turny, but I like it just the way it is.»
