Janka storms into overall World Cup lead with downhill win

SWITZERLAND'S Carlo Janka has stormed his way back to the top of the overall FIS World Cup rankings with victory in the final downhill race in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

POLE POSITION: Switzerland's Carlo Janka has moved into the lead in the overall World Cup rankings with three races remaining (Getty Images)

The 23-year-old Olympic giant slalom champion blitzed home in 1:58.45 minutes, edging out Austria's Mario Scheiber by just 0.02 seconds for his fifth World Cup victory of the season.

Janka's victory ensures he leapfrogs Austria's Benjamin Raich, a slalom specialist who opted against taking part, in the overall rankings, taking his total to 1073, 54 more than Raich.

"I knew that this was the event where I needed to win some points. The race was very tight but I was on the right side of the clock," said Janka.

"It's still on the cards, the course suits me and I think I can be fast in tomorrow's super-G as well.

"These are the races I needed to do well in because I will be behind Raich in the technical events Therefore, it will be good to have a margin on my side going into the slalom and the giant slalom."

It also ensures that Austrian male skiers, who failed to capture Olympic gold in Vancouver, have failed to top the downhill podium all season.

Only 0.07 separated the top four racers, with Erik Guay of Canada and Patrick Kueng of Switzerland finishing joint-third.

Another Swiss skier Didier Cuche, who had already won the World Cup downhill title, finished eighth and is currently third in the overall standings with 878 points.

At the World Cup finals in Garmisch-Partenkirchen there are three remaining competitions: the super-G, the slalom and the giant slalom.