BEAVER CREEK, Colo. -- Hermann Maier's comeback faces the ultimate test this weekend as the Herminator prepares to tackle a downhill double-header and super-G on one of the World Cup's most challenging and demanding courses.

With the Val d'Isere downhill moved to Beaver Creek due to a lack of snow, the Austrian double Olympic champion faces three grueling days of competition.

It will not only test his fitness, but the sturdiness of the right leg that he injured in a life-threatening motorcycle accident two years ago.

Maier has said that because of nerve damage he sustained in the crash he does not feel the terrain the way he use to, and the pounding and extreme forces exerted on his damaged leg are likely to be severe.

But Maier, who will celebrate his 31st birthday on Sunday, arrives at this Colorado resort bristling with confidence after a stunning super-G victory Sunday in Lake Louise, Canada.

While it has been three years since he last raced the Birds of Prey piste, Beaver Creek has been a happy hunting ground for the burly Austrian and the site of some of his greatest successes.

In 10 career starts here Maier can count seven wins, including three world champion gold medals and a pair of World Cup downhill victories.

Maier showed he had lost none of his affinity for the course on Thursday when he clocked the fastest time in the only training run for Friday's first downhill.

"It's going to be very tough," Maier said. "For me the last race here was three years ago and now it is very open, very fast with big jumps.

"The win in Lake Louise has given me very much more self-confidence, but I will need it because this course is very dangerous.

"It is very hard and I will need all my good technique."

While Maier insists this is just his comeback season, his results indicate that he could soon be dominating the sport the way he did before his accident.

He is third in the overall standings, 33 points behind leader American Bode Miller, and with even modest results this weekend could return to Europe leading the rankings.

Last season, Maier made his initial comeback in January and five races later was celebrating an emotional super-G victory in front of home fans in Kitzbuehel.

He followed that success with a silver in the same event at the world championships but did not return to World Cup as he had to have a titanium rod removed from the damaged leg.

The only thing Maier has lacked this season has been his bravado, although he did allow a small bit of his cockiness to slip through following his win last week, when asked about the prospects of a fourth overall title.

"You never know what could happen," he said.