SAINT MORITZ (Switzerland), Dec 15: Anja Paerson of Sweden stunned the pre-race favourites to claim victory in the women’s downhill on Saturday, her first World Cup win of the season.

Paerson, who claimed her last downhill success at the end of the 2006 season in Are, Sweden, pipped American Lindsey Vonn by just 0.08secs. Germany’s Maria Riesch took third place after finishing 0.33sec behind Paerson.

Paerson is the current world champion in downhill, super-G and super-combined but despite a hugely successful campaign at the championships in Are, Sweden earlier this year she had struggled with form on the World Cup circuit.

This season she finished way off the podium in this season’s two previous downhill races, claiming 18th place at Aspen, Colorado last week and seventh at Lake Louise, Canada a fortnight ago.

Meanwhile, in Val Gardena, Italy, Michael Walchhofer won the first downhill classic of the World Cup season on Saturday and increased his lead in the discipline standings.

The Austrian covered the 3.446-kilometer (2.14-mile) Saslong course in 1 minute, 56.70 seconds.

Switzerland’s Didier Cuche was second, 0.18 behind, and Scott Macartney of the United States was third, 0.56 back.

Walchhofer also won the season’s previous downhill in Beaver Creek, Colorado, and now has six podium finishes at this resort in the Italian Dolomites.

Walchhofer almost crashed into a gate heading into the tricky, turn-filled Ciaslat section but had established such a big lead before the mistake that the lost time didn’t affect his result.

Cuche won Friday’s super-G, while for Macartney it was his first podium since a super-G in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, nearly two years ago.

Canadian Erik Guay finished fourth after leading Thursday’s final training session and Ambrosi Hoffmann was fifth in another good day for the Swiss team.

Bode Miller came in eighth. The American finished second in Friday’s super-G and was on pace for another podium finish until he got a little wild on the lower section of the course, flailing his arms to keep his balance.

Another American, defending champion Steven Nyman, got his skis tangled and fell five seconds into his run.

Val Gardena is one of the five classic downhills on the World Cup circuit. The others are: Val d’Isere, France; Wengen, Switzerland; Kitzbuehel, Austria; and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.—AFP