Kilde stars in Kitzbuhel to top World Cup standings

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde moved to the top of the downhill World Cup standings with his third victory of the season in Kitzbuhel. The 29-year-old is attempting to follow in the footsteps of Austria's Franz Klammer and Toni Sailer by winning both the prestigious World Cup event and Winter Olympic gold in the same year.

He will head to Beijing as one of the favourites after winning by 0.42s from 41-year-old Frenchman Johan Clarey, the oldest Alpine skier to make a World Cup podium. Clarey's compatriot Blaise Giezendanner secured his first World Cup podium by finishing third, just 0.04s ahead of home favourite Matthias Mayer.

Kilde is 143 points clear of Mayer in the downhill standings and second to Marco Odermatt in the overall Crystal Globe race. Odermatt finished fifth in Kitzbuhel, 0.78s off Kilde's time of 1:55.92.