Innerhofer wins World Cup downhill at Wengen

Christof Innerhofer timed 2 minutes, 29.82 seconds down the 2.74-mile course, the longest on the World Cup program.

Shinichiro Tanaka/AP

WENGEN, Switzerland (AP) -- Christof Innerhofer of Italy won the classic Lauberhorn downhill on Saturday, and Johan Clarey of France set a World Cup speed record of 100.6 mph.

Innerhofer timed 2 minutes, 29.82 seconds down the 2.74-mile course, the longest on the World Cup program.

"For me, it's amazing winning at Wengen. It cannot be better," said Innerhofer, who won the downhill in November at Beaver Creek, Colo.

Klaus Kroell of Austria was second, 0.30 seconds behind, while teammate Hannes Reichelt was 0.76 back in third.

Clarey, who placed fifth, clocked the fastest speed recorded in competition in the 46-year history of the World Cup. He did it at the Hanneggschuss straight two minutes into his run.

"It's a good feeling. It's a little thing in the race, but I'm happy to have it," said Clarey of the record, which topped 99.3 mph by Benjamin Thomsen of Canada earlier in the race.

American Marco Sullivan finished 13th, while teammate Travis Ganong was 21st and Steven Nyman crashed out.

"It was a solid run for knocking down some points," said U.S. coach Sasha Rearick of Sullivan's run. "It was fast and good at the top, then it wasn't as clean as it needed to be really hitting for the podium."

Innerhofer earned his fifth career World Cup win and third in downhill. The 28-year-old Italian He had been fastest Friday in the downhill portion of the super-combined.

The fast time was made possible by hard-packed snow conditions and good visibility on a clear day. In its 83th year, the race drew 33,000 spectators to the slope beneath the Eiger and Jungfrau mountains.

Downhill standings leader Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway crashed into safety nets after being fastest on the top section. He failed to make a left turn after the signature Hundschopf jump but was not injured.

Svindal retained his discipline lead, with Innerhofer now second, but failed to close the gap on overall World Cup leader Marcel Hirscher of Austria.

Hirscher, who skips downhill races, leads by 108 points. He'll start as the favorite to win Sunday's slalom, which Svindal will miss.