After two of four runs Frei, who won on home snow in St Moritz last year, leads with a time of 1min 53.32sec.

Frei earned the third best times on both runs, with 56.46sec in run one and 56.86 in run two, with his consistency helping him to the top of the standings.

Britain’s Corie Mapp sits in second with a time of 1:53.42, 0.10 seconds behind Frei, which included the fastest time in run one of 56.38.

Switzerland’s Christopher Stewart is in third place with 1:53.48, 0.16 seconds off the pace, with Hermann Ellmauer of Austria in fourth with 1:53.62.

Flavio Menardi of Italy completes the top five in 1:53.72, recovering from a poor first run to post the fastest time of the second runs in 56.74.

Less than a minute separates the top 10 of the 17-strong field in an event open to both men and women.

The highest placed female competitor in the standings is Giulia Ruffato of Italy in 12^th place.

Competition is scheduled to conclude with runs three and four tomorrow.