Von Allmen leads Swiss 1-2-3 in Crans-Montana downhill

Crans-Montana: Newly-crowned world champion Franjo Von Allmen won the men's World Cup downhill in Crans-Montana on Saturday, leading a rare Swiss sweep on home snow ahead of Marco Odermatt and Alexis Monney.

Von Allmen narrowly avoided disaster as he made a shaky landing on the final jump, but the 23-year-old recovered to earn his second career World Cup win, clocking 1min 56.07sec to bump Odermatt down to second place.

Odermatt, at 0.13sec, was denied an eighth win of the season but increased his lead in the overall World Cup standings to 400 points as he bids for a fourth straight crystal globe. He could further stretch his advantage in Sunday's super-G.

Monney, who took downhill bronze at the world championships earlier this month, again finished third, 0.42sec behind Von Allmen, whose win followed his breakthrough triumph on the circuit in the super-G at Wengen in January.

"The first World Cup victory in downhill, especially here with the home crowd and two other Swiss guys on the podium, it feels amazing," said Von Allmen, who has shot to prominence in his second season at the top level.

"I had two or three little mistakes where I left my position, where the ski went not the way I wanted it to. In the end I was quite surprised that it was enough for first place."

In front of a tide of red-and-white flags, Swiss skiers completed the country's first downhill 1-2-3 since March 1987 on a course that will host the next world championships in two years' time.

"It's unbelievable. We've already had some special races this season with two on the podium," said Odermatt.

"Everyone wants to win and if you're leading a race you don't want to get second, that's for sure, but I did my very best," he added. "I had a perfect run, I gave it (my) all."

It was a fifth win in six World Cup downhill races for Switzerland this season, with Odermatt ahead of Von Allmen and Monney at the top of the discipline standings.