Austrian skier Huetter wins World Cup downhill, world champion Johnson finishes 3rd
Italy's Federica Brignone leads discipline by 26 points with just 3 races remaining
Cornelia Huetter won the first women's World Cup downhill since the alpine skiing world championships on Friday in Kvitfjell, Norway, to give new life to the battle for the discipline title.
The Austrian got her second downhill win of the season after beating Emma Aicher of Germany by 0.15 seconds. The 21-year-old Aicher secured her first career podium finish.
Downhill world champion Breezy Johnson finished 0.40 seconds behind in third as the American continued the wait for her maiden World Cup victory.
Lindsey Vonn was 1.15 seconds off the lead in 13th while Canadians Val Grenier and Cassidy Gray finished 45th and 46th, respectively.
WATCH | Grenier struggles at Kvitfjell World Cup downhill race:
Huetter bounced back from missing a medal at the worlds in Austria, where she placed fourth in downhill and 10th in the super-G.
"It was really tough two weeks ago. It was a lot of finding my mindset again, finding my feeling again," Huetter said. "It's nice to have that feeling back, and also be on the start and have the real mindset in my head what I need to go fast."
Huetter also won the season opener in Beaver Creek, Colorado, in December and closed the gap on discipline leader Federica Brignone to 26 points with three races left this campaign.
A two-time downhill winner this season, Brignone placed fifth, shortly behind Italian teammate Sofia Goggia, a week after she got back-to-back wins in two giant slalom races in Italy.
Huetter won the downhill title last season.
WATCH | Huetter captures her 2nd World Cup downhill win of the season:
Johnson had the fastest time in training Friday and said she "definitely risked a lot" in the race.
"I was little surprised with the results," the American said. "I had a couple of mistakes in the middle."
Johnson, who returned in December from a 14-month ban for breaking anti-doping rules, got her first World Cup podium of the season and eighth overall.
Teammate Jacqueline Wiles in eighth had her second top-10 result in downhill this season, while Vonn and Lauren Macuga completed a quartet of Americans in the top 15.
Vonn was 0.51 off the pace at the first split but posted the fastest time in one of the other four sections of the Olympiabakken course as the 2010 Olympic champion continued her comeback season at the age of 40 with a new titanium knee after six years away from racing.
"Experimenting every day with my equipment and I think I'm making progress. Focused on trying to improve every day, even if it's small," Vonn posted on Instagram on the eve of the race.
Mary Bocock, the last starter, had a nasty crash when she tumbled after a jump. She lost one ski and her protective airbag inflated, but the American got up promptly and seemed unhurt.
After a freezing cold night, the snow surface was harder than during the training runs the past days, meaning skiers reached higher speeds and needed to judge their turns differently on a course they were not used to race on.
Kvitfjell is an annual stop on the men's circuit but hosted only one women's downhill over the past 22 years, when Kajsa Vickhoff Lie celebrated a home win in 2023.
Another downhill is scheduled for Saturday, followed by a super-G the next day.
With files from CBC Sports
