Kjetil Jansrud claimed his first world title in Saturday's downhill as he edged out retiring Norwegian team-mate Aksel Lund Svindal for gold in Are.

Jansrud had only ever claimed silver in his previous FIS Alpine World Ski Championship appearances but he handled the tough Swedish conditions superbly to take victory by two hundredths of a second.

Olympic super-G champion Matthias Mayer had set the early pace on a reduced course due to fog and snow, but Jansrud soared past his time to stop the clock at one minute 19.98 seconds.

Svindal – who will retire at the end of the World Cup season – followed three racers later and looked on course to mark his final World Championships with a momentous win, but he could not hold onto his advantage and crossed the line just over Jansrud's time.

The two Norwegians had both toiled in tough conditions and they only got worse, hampering world super-G champion Dominik Paris, Carlo Janka and Johan Clarey.

Defending champion Beat Feuz almost snatched bronze but he was denied a podium place by Vincent Kriechmayr.