By Anna Thompson Winter Sports editor

The World Ski Championships in St Moritz, Switzerland, have come to an end after two weeks of thrilling skiing.

And with it has been the usual mix of dead certs and shocks.

Who would have believed Austrian legend Hermann Maier would have returned after a motorcycle crash to win a silver medal in the men's super-G?

And Bode Miller coming of age with two golds and a silver to add to his Olympic medal haul to prove he is the world's top all-rounder?

Kostelic won the slalom and combined

North American skiers were in top form with Canada's Melanie Turgeon providing the shock of the championships with a win in the downhill.

More predictably, Janica Kostelic continued her domination of women's skiing with golds in the combined and the slalom.

And it was great to see her elder brother Ivica finally win a major race, when he clinched the men's slalom.

The two have returned to Croatia as heroes and rightly so.

Norway's Kjteil Andre Aamodt became the most successful skier at a major championships, clinching his 18th medal but missing out on a cherished downhill title.

And British skiing can also hold its head up high too.

There were good performances by Noel Baxter, who battled with back pain to finish 24th in the slalom, and Finlay Mickel, who finished fifth in the downhill part of the combined race.

Many were hoping Alain Baxter would storm back from a disappointing year to win a medal after his Olympics nightmare.

But it just was not to be as he uncharacteristically crashed out of the slalom.

Head coach Christian Schwaiger remained upbeat about the future of British skiing.

He said: "They all gave maximum effort, two did not make it, but the younger members of the team were not overawed by the occasion and went for it second run.

"I think we can take some hope for the future."

The World Cup circus will now continue in Garmisch in Germany on 22 February while St Moritz will revert to its glamorous routine of horse racing and polo on its frozen lake.

Roll on Bormio in Italy in 2005.