Italian skier Franzoni adds Kitzbuhel downhill win to his breakout season

Italian skier Giovanni Franzoni put another exclamation point to his breakout World Cup season Saturday by winning on the classic Streif course, two weeks before the downhill race at his home Olympics.

Franzoni's triumph in Kitzbuhel, Austria, came eight days after his maiden career win in a super-G at another storied World Cup resort, Wengen.

The 24-year-old Italian is a former junior world champion in downhill, super-G and combined, but had not been on a World Cup podium before last month, when he placed third in a super-G in Italy. He earned his first World Cup wins four months after his close friend and former roommate, Matteo Franzoso, died in a crash during preseason training in Chile.

On Saturday, Franzoni set the pace as the second starter. Several racers clocked faster split times but no one was able to keep their advantage on the challenging course.

Franzoni edged out world champion and overall World Cup leader Marco Odermatt by 0.07 seconds, as the Swiss star's wait for his first win in the marquee race was extended for at least another year.

Third-place Maxence Muzaton, a late starter with bib 29, also led Franzoni during his run but the Frenchman ultimately came up 0.39 short, bumping Franzoni's Italian teammate Florian Schieder off the podium and into fourth.

Cam Alexander was the top Canadian finisher, placing 14th. Last year's winner, Jack Crawford of Toronto, finished 1.65 seconds back of Franzoni to end up in 23rd.

Odermatt won the super-G on the same hill Friday and led Franzoni for half of his downhill run, but lost time in the challenging final section of the Streif.

Odermatt, who had won three of the previous four downhills this season, leaned on his ski poles and buried his head in his hands in