Gut-Behrami, the reigning super-G and giant slalom champion, took advantage of the ideal conditions at the Austrian venue, completing the three-kilometre Kälberloch course in 1min 45.78sec.

The Swiss racer was 0.10sec quicker than Kira Weidle of Germany, while Ramona Siebenhofer of Austria was third, 0.44 back.

Olympic champion Sofia Goggia's pursuit of an eighth consecutive downhill victory ended when she crashed midway through her run.

Victory for Gut-Behrami comes after she endured a difficult two months on the circuit, which included missing four World Cup events because of a positive COVID-19 test in December.

The 30-year-old Olympic bronze medallist and former overall World Cup champion only returned to action last week with the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games fast approaching.

"This is what I needed and I’m happy that I skied the way I wanted," said Gut-Behrami.

"My last two months were everything but good. 

"I am happy that I’m getting back into the rhythm. 

"It's cool that I could ski on a high level for three days in a row."

Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States, who opted to skip the World Cup at Zauchensee, remains the overall World Cup leader on 966 points.

Goggia occupies top spot on the downhill rankings with 300 points.

A super-G race is due to take place at the Austrian venue tomorrow.