Skiing: Germans looking good for 50km ski

The German ski team were in top form in their final training run for today's 50km endurance challenge at Coronet Peak.

They clocked the fastest time of the eight teams competing in the inaugural Compaq 50k, the most extreme downhill race to be held in New Zealand.

The teams are Germany, Spain, Canada, Australia, Slovenia, Sweden and two from New Zealand, Team New Zealand and Team Kiwi.

The Swedes are an all-women team.

The Germans led Canada and Team New Zealand in yesterday's run.

The 16-hour endurance race starts at 6 tonight and finishes at 10 am tomorrow.

Swedish star Nina Oqvist, back at her Queenstown hotel after her first look at the course, said the 1100m circuit was "very hard. Very fast but a bit uneven."

She and her team-mates, along with the other three-member teams, are hoping for fresh snow.

"It would be beautiful to ski if there was some more snow," Oqvist said. "It is pretty slick at the moment and in an event when it is important to have all three team members still skiing at the end of the 16 gruelling hours, conditions can be expected to play a part."

The charity event, in support of CureKids, is based on the format used in the successful 24 Hours of Aspen, a similar endurance race in the US dubbed the "24 hours of pain."

Two members from each team must be on the course at all times, the third member taking the opportunity to rest.