Aksel Lund Svindal is out with injury but still leads downhill World Cup standings
Peter Fill, Adrien Theaux coming up in rankings
Alpine skier Aksel Lund Svindal has been out of competition since injuring his knee in January, but nearly two months later he's still at the top of the World Cup's downhill standings with 436 points.
That could change this weekend in Norway, however, as the skiers who've been catching up to him might finally surpass him.
Italy's Peter Fill is currently second in the downhill standings. His 410 points put him just 26 points behind Svindal heading into this week's World Cup in Kvitfjell which runs March 10 - 13.
Adrien Theaux of France sits 69 points behind Fill with 341 points, followed closely by Kjetil Jansrud, of Norway, who sits fourth with 337 points.
Both Theaux and Jansrud would need a near-perfect race to catch up to Svindal. A first-place finish is worth 100 points and would put them five points or one point head of Svindal, respectively. The chance of this happening isn't remote, but it's slim — each athlete only had one gold medal finish in a downhill World Cup this season.
The path is easier for Fill, who needs to finish ninth or better to take over the lead. He's already had seven top-10 downhill finishes this season, so it's likely he will surpass Svindal. If he comes in 10th in Norway, he'll be tied with Svindal for first.
Norway is the second last World Cup event of the season, followed by the final event in St. Moritz, Switzerland from March 12 - 20.
Svindal has not competed since Jan. 23 when he ruptured his ACL at the Kitzbuehel World Cup.