Music: {allcanada} CANADA'S OSBORNE-PARADIS FOURTH AT WC DOWNHILL

Saturday, March 2, 2013

{allcanada} CANADA'S OSBORNE-PARADIS FOURTH AT WC DOWNHILL

KVITFJELL, Norway -- Adrien Theaux of France earned his second career World Cup victory Saturday by narrowly beating home favourite Aksel Lund Svindal in a downhill.

Theaux raced down the steep 2.641-metre course in one minute 29.10 seconds to edge Svindal by 0.19 seconds. Klaus Kroell of Austria was 0.50 seconds back in third. The Frenchman's only previous win came in March 2011 in Switzerland.

Canada's Manuel Osborne-Paradis came agonizingly close to reaching the podium -- just 0.01 seconds back of third place.

The 29-year-old from Vancouver led until Theaux came down the Olympiabakken track and Osborne-Paradis was eventually pushed back to fourth as high winds battered racers navigating their way down the hill.

"I'm happy with my result," said Osborne-Paradis, a three-time World Cup winner. "I've been fourth before but never one one-hundredth out. It sucks but that's racing -- the clock never lies. Being fourth is just one of those things. It was close but really, I'm five-tenths away from first."

Svindal's second-place finish meant he made up some ground on overall World Cup leader Marcel Hirscher and now trails the Austrian by 129 points. The Norwegian also extended his lead over Kroell in the downhill standings.

Calgary's Jan Hudec finished sixth, while Erik Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Que., placed 26th. Ben Thomsen of Invermere, B.C., was 29th.

The downhill is followed by a super-G on Sunday.