Intro:

Norway's Kjetil Jansrud succeeds in Alberta, Canada, after winning the first men's downhill World Cup skiing race of the season.

Script:

The Canadian Rocky Mountains were the backdrop to the opening men's downhill skiing World Cup race of the season in Alberta, Canada on Saturday.

Norway's Kjetil Jansrud followed up his training run victory by crossing the finish line in a time of 1min 50.20secs.

This was only the 29-year-old's second downhill success of his career and his previous best in Lake Louise was 9th place.

The Sochi Olympics Super G champion picks up 100 points and is the early leader in the World Cup standings, with 12 races still remaining.

There was a tie for second place between Guillermo Fayed of France and home favourite Manuel Osborne-Paradis.

Fayed hadn't placed better than 6th in a World Cup race before he earned his place on the podium a day after his 29th birthday.

Osborne-Paradis also recorded a time of 1min 50.34 seconds and both skiers collected 80 points.

Jansrud and co. now head south to America where the downhill action continues in Beaver Creek, Colorado, next week.