GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany — Local boy Thomas Dressen won the men's World Cup downhill at his home town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the first time on Saturday.

The 26-year-old Dressen, who was born in the Bavarian Alpine town, clocked 1min 39.31sec as the first skier down the Kandahar course, which softened as the race progressed in relatively warm, sunny conditions.

"I have trained so often on this course and I knew I had to keep my form and stay compact," said Dressen after claiming the fourth downhill win of his career.

"Kitzbuehel is always a special atmosphere, but I was a bit annoyed with my performance," he said, having finished 26th in last week's downhill at the Austrian resort. "But it's something special to win here."

Dressen, who won the fabled Kitzbuehel downhill in 2018 for the first World Cup win of his career, had never previously finished on the podium in Garmisch.

He was delighted with victory on the slopes where he learned to ski.

He is the first German male to win on the Kandahar since Markus Wasmeier in 1992.

Norway's Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who finished second in the super-G in Kitzbuehel last weekend, had to again settle for second.

Kilde clipped a gate on the mid-section of the course which cost him time as he finished 0.16sec back.

France's Johan Clarey, 39, was third at 0.17sec, giving Dressen a few nervous moments with a quicker pace at the top of the course before losing time in the final sections.

Swiss Beat Feuz, the overall downhill leader, finished sixth, 0.35sec behind Dressen.

None of the top five had a start number higher than 10 as the mild weather played a key factor in the final placings. — AFP