ST MORITZ - Maria Riesch of Germany ended Lindsey Vonn's unbeaten run by winning the women's World Cup downhill here on Saturday with a near flawless display of skiing.

The American had won the first five downhills of the season and another triumph in the classic Swiss resort would have assured her of the Crystal Globe in the speed discipline.

But in attempting to better the excellent time posted by Riesch, Vonn made two slight mistakes on turns in the middle section of the Corviglia piste to wreck her chances. She had to settle for fifth place in the end.

"It was bound to happen someday. Yet I'm disappointed because I made exactly the same mistake as I did two years ago," added Vonn, who has never won a race in St Moritz.

Second place went to Ingrid Jacquemod of France with Fabienne Suter of Switzerland taking third.

Emily Brydon of Fernie, B.C., was 21st.

The win was sweet for Riesch, who had four podium finishes in the first five downhills and it allowed her to close the gap on Vonn at the top of the overall standings ahead of the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
She now has 1130 points, just 61 points behind the American.

The German slalom world champion clocked 1min 41.31secs, 0.79secs ahead of Jacquemod, who took her third podium of the season and 0.96secs clear of home favourite Suter.

It was her first World Cup downhill win for more than three years when she came first at Lake Louise.

"I was annoyed with myself for skiing out of the race on Friday, but I was able to regroup and I've proved that I can bounce back from a bad day and win," said Riesch.

"I've been doing well in downhills this season and just needed to get a win under my belt. It's crucial for the World Cup, but also for my confidence. A win just before the Olympics is good for the morale."

A super-G follows at St Moritz on Sunday and that will be the last race before the Olympics which start on February 12.