France's Adrien Theaux dominated a testing downhill course in Santa Caterina to claim victory in Tuesday's World Cup race.

Theaux timed 1min 47.29sec down the 3.2km-long Deborah Compagnoni course in brilliant sunshine.

Austria's world super-G champion Hannes Reichelt finished second, at 1.04sec, with another Frenchman, David Poisson, in third, a further 0.11sec adrift.

Theaux's victory was his third on the circuit, having already won downhills at Lenzerheide and Kvitfjell.

"It's a very tough piste, in the shade, with a moving terrain you don't always see," the 31-year-old Theaux told Eurosport.

Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal, who has won the season's opening three downhills, finished seventh, at 1.61sec, allowing him to leapfrog Austrian Marcel Hirscher into first place in the overall standings.

Svindal now has 636 points, with Hirscher on 621.
Source: AFP