SKIING: Switzerland's Von Allmen wins last race before Olympics

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland – Switzerland’s Franjo Von Allmen claimed his second downhill victory of the season on home snow in Crans-Montana on Sunday, winning the last Alpine Skiing World Cup race before the Milano Cortina Olympics.

The reigning downhill world champion, who also won last year on the Piste Nationale, started 15th and finished 0.65 seconds ahead of Italy’s early leader Dominik Paris.

Ryan Cochran-Siegle of the United States returned to the podium with a third-place finish, his first since December, while overall World Cup leader and Swiss medal hopeful Marco Odermatt came in fourth.

The Swiss-Italian rivalry was on full display, with Switzerland placing five skiers in the top 10 and Italy four. Cochran-Siegle was the only non-European to break into the top ranks.

Attention now turns to the men’s downhill in Bormio, which will award the first Alpine medals of the Olympics next Saturday, a day after the opening ceremony. Training for the event begins Wednesday.

In the downhill standings, Von Allmen trails Odermatt by 115 points after six of nine races this season. Odermatt has won three downhills so far, while Italy’s rising star Giovanni Franzoni, who finished 23rd on Sunday, won at Kitzbuehel last month.

-Reporting by Alan Baldwin in Cortina d’Ampezzo; Editing by Alexander Smith/Reuters