Are, Sweden - Lindsey Vonn should crown another superb alpine ski season by capturing the women's World Cup title for a second straight year in the season-enders from Wednesday.

However the battle for the men's overall title is wide open, with five skiers still realistically in with a chance of the crown.

Eight of the 12 crystal globes are still up for grabs in four days of racing in the Swedish resort of Are, hosts of the 2007 world championships.

Vonn is hoping the downhill race on Wednesday will seal her second consecutive World Cup overall title.

The 24-year-old American is also in the running for the super-g title to go with the downhill crystal globe.

Vonn has been in dominant form in a season which has seen her win downhill and super-g gold medals at the world championships in Val d'Isere and beat Tamara McKinney's record as the most successful US skier in World Cup history.

She missed the chance of clinching the overall title last weekend at Ofterschwang, Germany when she crashed out in the slalom, allowing Germany's Maria Riesch to win the discipline's title.

Riesch has been Vonn's closest rival this season but admits overtaking her friend now is a near impossible task. Vonn has 1,588 points, with Riesch on 1,219 in the standings, with 100 points awarded for a win and only four races remaining.

"Lindsey has won it. I would have to win every race and she would have to fail to finish in each one," Riesch said.

"I now want to defend the second place from Anja (Paerson, in third place).

Vonn has happy memories of Are where she won downhill and super-g silver medals at the 2007 world championships, and will be confident of not only clinching the overall title but winning the super-g globe.

In a three-way race, she will have to overcome leader Fabienne Suter of Switzerland and hold off Nadia Fanchini of Italy but goes into Thursday's finale having won the last three super-g events.

The men's super-g title will also be settled on Thursday, with Austrian veteran Hermann Maier leading Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal by 19 points.

Austria will definitely have the downhill crown with Michael Walchhofer and Klaus Kroell now the only contenders.

Switzerland's Didier Cuche leads the giant slalom standings, with Austria's Benjamin Raich and Ted Ligety of the United States challenging. Jean-Baptiste Grange of France and Croatia's Ivica Kostelic are favourites for the slalom title.

The four races will determine the men's overall title, where Kostelic and Raich are tied at the top top on 837 points, eight ahead of Svindal, with Grange (777) and Cuche
(763) lurking. (dpa)