Skier Lindsey Kildow of the USA celebrates her win in Val D'Isere (AP Photo)

American skier Lindsey Kildow has won a women's World Cup downhill race in Val D'Isere, France, but Austrian Michaela Dorfmeister retained the overall lead in the event.

Kildow became the first American woman to finish on the podium at the French race since 1996 by clocking one minute, 21.91 seconds. Teammate Caroline Lalive was second - 0.38 of one second back, with Austrian Alexandra Meissnitzer third (1:22.30).

The victory was Kildow's second of the season. She also won in Lake Louise, Alberta, earlier this month. The American leads the downhill discipline standings with 245 points.

Dorfmeister finished eighth, but remains the overall World Cup leader with 366 points. Kildow is second, 44 points back with Meissnitzer third (320 points).

Saturday's race was delayed about 90 minutes because of heavy overnight snow and swirling winds. About 30 cm of fresh snow covered the course Saturday morning.

Some information for this report provided by AP.