Austria's Anna Veith claimed an emotional super G victory at the French venue of Val d'Isere on Sunday, her first World Cup top spot in almost three years in the wake of major injuries.
Veith won in the absence of Saturday's super G winner Lindsey Vonn who cited a sore knee for her absence as she wants to take no risks ahead of the Olympics in February.
The winner clocked 1 minute 5.77 seconds under sunny skies on the 1,598-metre piste, beating discipline leader Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein by .48 of a second. Italy's Sofia Goggia was third after placing second Saturday, another three-hundredth behind.
It was the 15th career win for the two-time overall World Cup champion, Olympic super-g champion and three-time former world champion - then under her maiden name Fenninger - but the first since March 2015.
Veith suffered a severe knee injury in October 2015 which kept her out for a year, and her comeback in late December 2016 ended after two months over another knee injury which required surgery.
"There are a lot of emotions. I have been dreaming about this for a long time," she said in first television interviews, speaking of "my biggest victory.
"It wasn't easy. I went through a big low. I often considered quitting but so many people believed in me."
Overall World Cup leader Mikaela Shffrin of the US was not competing Sunday.
Meanwhile Vonn, who suffered a back injury which left her in enormous pain at St Moritz one week ago during another Super G race, said she wanted to concentrate her efforts on the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in February.
"Unfortunately I'm not racing today. Knee is a bit sore from yesterday so to be on the safe side I'm going to give my body some rest," she said on Twitter.
"My focus is on the Olympics so no need to risk anything now. Still going home very happy after my win yesterday."
Vonn's win in Saturday's Super G was her first since the downhill at Garmisch in January.
The finest woman skier of her generation, Vonn was downhill gold medallist at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010 but missed the 2014 games in Sochi because of a knee injury.
The 33-year-old was also sidelined for 11 months after suffering a knee injury in Andorra in February 2016 and then broke her arm in training in Colorado the following November, requiring an intensive program of rehabilitation.
She also suffered lingering nerve damage.
