By USSA

MERIBEL, France — Less than a second separated the top 17 finishers in Saturday’s Audi FIS Alpine World Cup women’s downhill, with Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley) leading the way for the U.S. Ski Team at 13th, 0.90 behind surprise winner Carolina Ruiz Castillo of Spain.

Julia Mancuso

It was a historic first World Cup downhill victory for Spain and the first podium of any kind since 2006. Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) finished just behind Mancuso in a three-way tie for 14th.

Leanne Smith (N. Conway, N.H.) was 18th, Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain) 27th and Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.) 35th. Cook dropped one spot in the World Cup downhill standings to third behind sidelined Lindsey Vonn (Vail,) and Tina Maze of Slovenia.

McKennis is fifth, Smith ninth and Mancuso 14th in the standings as the U.S. Ski Team continues to lead the nation’s standings for downhill.