( CNN ) -- He may not have started from the top of the mountain but it was still a dream downhill for Patrick Kueng as he skied to victory at the World Cup event in Wengen . The course at the Swiss Alpine resort is renowned as the longest downhill course on the World Cup calendar at 4.4 kilometers ( 2.12 miles ) long but high winds Saturday meant the skiers had to start their runs lower down the slope . Victory still tasted sweet for Switzerland 's Kueng , who beat Austrian Hannes Reichelt and Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal with a time of one minute 32.66 seconds . `` Since I was a kid , I 've been watching this race , '' the 30-year-old told reporters . `` My first dream was to race it and my second dream was to win it . `` In 2006 I had a terrible accident in which I broke one leg and broke the ankle in my other leg . I ended up in a wheelchair and my thoughts did turn to quitting . `` It was a very tough time , but when I decided to continue , it was nothing but 100 per cent . Eventually I got a World Cup spot and now I 'm here ! '' Keung has never represented Switzerland at a Winter Olympics and is hoping that two World Cup victories this season will be enough to book his place on the plane to the Sochi Games next month . American Ted Ligety , a 2006 Olympic gold medallist in the combined , tuned up for his next tilt at the Games with a decisive victory in the super-combined in Wengen Friday . The 29-year-old clocked a combined total of two minute 44.74 seconds in the slalom and downhill . `` It 's good to get this win , definitely , '' Ligety said . `` Hopefully it will change the momentum for me . `` I 've finally won a combined . I 've won the Olympics and world championships but I have n't won a World Cup before and it 's nice to get that . '' Ligety is third in the overall World Cup standings behind leader Svindal and Austrian Marcel Hirscher .
Kueng wins first downhill World Cup race on home soil in Switzerland . The famous long course at Wengen had to be shortened because of high winds . Kueng said he had thought of quitting skiing after a terrible accident in 2014 . American Ted Ligety tunes up for 2006 World Cup with combined win .