The 31-year-old skier beat her compatriot and favorite Sofia Goggia by 29 hundredths, and the Swiss Corinne Suter by 73 hundredths.

Due to bad weather conditions, the start of the event had been lowered to that of the super-G, which will take place on Sunday.

The snow, then the fog, disrupted the race, especially before the start of Goggia, Olympic vice-champion.

By starting in second position, Curtoni therefore benefited from greater visibility than Goggia (tenth from).

It was in the middle of the course that the fog was thickest, hampering the intentions of the skiers, in a discipline where speed often rhymes with risk.

This is Curtoni's third World Cup victory, after the super-G in Cortina d'Ampezo earlier this year and the downhill in Bansko (Bulgaria) in 2020.

"I'm very happy. I have good memories here, I stood on a podium for the first time here a few years ago (in 2016, editor's note)", she declared at the microphone of the International Federation skiing (FIS) after the race.

Victorious in the first two runs of the winter at Lake Louise, Goggia was a huge favorite, especially after her demonstration Thursday during the second training session, which she had flown over with 1 second 10 ahead of the fastest second, the Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami.

"Hard and Scary"

Gut-Behrami took only eighth place on Friday, far behind her compatriot Corinne Suter.

The 28-year-old skier confirms her excellent year, during which she was crowned Olympic champion in the discipline, won the Lake Louise super-G and the Garmisch-Partenkirchen downhill.

Swiss skier Corinne Suter takes part in the Saint-Moritz downhill in Switzerland on December 16, 2022 © Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

"I didn't feel very comfortable today, conceded Suter. It was bumpy and you couldn't see the bumps too much, so it wasn't very easy, but I did my best. better. I can't wait for us to start at the very top tomorrow, so that we have more speed, I prefer!"

Saturday, the weather should be sunny for the second descent scheduled for 10:30 a.m. in Saint-Moritz, which would then push the organizers to start the race higher, unlike Friday.

The Saint-Moritz stage will end on Sunday with the super-G (11.30 a.m.).

Also eagerly awaited, the American star Mikaela Shiffrin took sixth place starting in 22nd position, achieving a very good descent in these conditions.

"It was not easy to start in this position. I am very happy with the way I skied, the best I could, rejoiced Shiffrin. Most of the girls are quite disappointed because it was difficult and scary."

In the general classification of the World Cup, Shiffrin, holder of the big crystal globe, is still in the lead after ten stages (425 points), ahead of the Swiss Wendy Holdener (366) and the Slovak Petra Vlhova (340), who have all two skipped the descent from Saint-Moritz.

Among the first skiers to start, the French Romane Miradoli badly negotiated one of the turns at the top of the track and fell, losing a ski.

Her compatriot Laura Gauche finished 27th, while Anouck Errard and Esther Paslier tied for 33rd position.

© 2022 AFP