ST. ANTON, AUSTRIA Italy's Isolde Kostner set the pace on Wednesday in a tearful second round of women's downhill training at the world championships.

Kostner, silver medalist in Monday's Super-G, clocked one minute 35.62 seconds as the former double Super-G world champion stepped up her bid for her first downhill title.

But the eight hundredths of a second which separated second-fastest Selina Heregger from Tanja Schneider meant the former beat the latter to a place in Austria's team.

Schneider, who was third-fastest down the Gertrud Gabl piste in 1:35.96, wept inconsolably in the finish zone, bent double over her ski sticks.

There was sympathy from Heregger, who made the World Cup circuit this season after winning the overall title in the Europe Cup -- Alpine skiing's second division.

"I feel very sorry for Tanja," she said. "But what can I do? It's the coaches' decision. She missed the team by eight hundredths of a second.

"I had to do a race run today and it's difficult to such a run on a qualification day."

A buoyant Kostner, who leads the downhill World Cup standings after two victories this season, had few problems with her own run.

(Reuter)