Vonn collects annual win in Lake Louise

LAKE LOUISE, Alberta (Reuters) - Lindsey Vonn added a fifth trophy to her collection of victories in Lake Louise when she won a World Cup downhill on her favorite piste on Friday.

The American earned the first of her 15 World Cup wins in the Canadian resort in 2004 and has since made a point of winning a downhill every year on the Olympic piste.

"I am really happy because I wanted to keep my winning tradition alive this year too," she said.

It took the overall and downhill World Cup champion one minute and 26.10 seconds to beat the rest of the field.

Italy's Nadia Fanchini was second in the opening downhill of the winter, her best World Cup result after three third places.

She was 0.61 seconds slower than Vonn, while third-placed Maria Riesch of Germany was a further 0.08 seconds adrift.

The podium was not unfamiliar. In one of the two downhills held in Lake Louise in 2006 the same three skiers took the laurels, Riesch winning ahead of Vonn and Fanchini.

The windy conditions worked in favor of the most experienced skiers.

"It was quite a fight with these difficult weather conditions, especially (as) the wind was blowing strong, so I went as low as I could in my tuck to be as aerodynamic as possible," Vonn said.

"I knew I had to take full risks to have a chance with those windy conditions. I made many mistakes but I kept on going as hard as I could," she added.

It was Vonn's second World Cup victory this season, following her unexpected triumph in Levi, Finland, last month, which was her first in a slalom.

The 24-year-old American also claimed the World Cup overall lead back from Tanja Poutiainen.

Vonn is on 329 points while the Finn slalom specialist is second with 260.

Another downhill and a super-G over the weekend should strengthen Vonn's position atop the World Cup standings.

(Editing by Francois Thomazeau and Ken Ferris)