(Reuters) - Austria's Max Franz won the opening downhill of the World Cup season ahead of Italians Christof Innerhofer and Dominik Paris in Lake Louise, Canada on Saturday.
Franz secured only his second World Cup victory in one minute, 46.18 seconds. He also won in Val Gardena, Italy in 2016.
Innerhofer was 0.28 seconds adrift with Paris third, 0.54 seconds behind Franz.
Swiss World Cup downhill champion Beat Feuz finished sixth in 1:46.85 with Olympic gold medallist Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway tying for eighth.
The competition continues on Sunday with a super-G.
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina, editing by Ed Osmond)
