Tarvisio, Italy - Germany's Gina Stechert claimed a surprise alpine ski World Cup downhill win when she edged overall leader Lindsey Vonn of the United States in Tarvisio on Saturday.

Stechert, 21, clocked 1 minute 59.94 seconds to beat double world champion Vonn by one-hundredth of a second for her maiden World Cup victory.

Sweden's Anja Paerson was third, 0.39 seconds behind Stechert whose best previous finish was fourth in the downhill at Lake Louise, Canada on December 5.

Fellow German Maria Riesch, who won Friday's super-combined, was a provisional 10th after the leading racers had completed their runs, to slip further behind Vonn in the overall standings. (dpa)