Impressive Svindal wins the downhill in Val Gardena

The traditional "Salslong" downhill in Val Gardena took place under blue skies and saw Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal take the win, ahead of teammate Kjetil Jansrud and Austrian Max Franz.

The King of the comebacks was able to win back-to-back races in downhill, as he won in Beaver Creek and now claimed another first place on the Saslong in Val Gardena! He now has six wins under his belt in Val Gardena, 34 in all disciplines and all venues.

In second place, his teammate found the way to the podium again in downhill. Finishing second, Kjetil Jansrud scored his 44th career podium and made up some important points after his big mistake in the super-g yesterday.

Austrian Max Franz loves the Saslong. After a second place yesterday in the super-g, he claims a 3rd place in the downhill today. Four of his seven World Cup podiums came on the challenging course in Val Gardena.

After the week-end in Val Gardena, a trio of Norwegians is leading the Overall standings. Aksel Lund Svindal is ahead, Kjetil Jansrud second and tech whiz Henrik Kristoffersen third. The upcoming races in Alta Badia (giant slalom on Sunday and parallel giant slalom on Monday evening) could mix up this ranking, as six time Overall winner Marcel Hirscher is in 4th place, only 9 points behind the podium.