Swiss skier Carlo Janka has won the men's giant slalom at the World Championships. A healthy lead after the first run and stretched his advantage over Austrian Benjamin Raich.

Janka overcame a mighty scare halfway through the second run before regaining momentum. He said he didn't worry about the little errors and kept the pedal down. It's a fight. It never feels good the whole way down. It's just bumpy and rattlely. You just have to go for it. I did that and I got away with a lot of risks you wouldn't normally get away with.

It was an emotional victory for the 22-year-old Janka, who is the teammate of Daniel Albrecht. The latter woke up Thursday from a three-week induced coma at a hospital in Innsbruck, Austria, after sustaining lung and brain injuries when he crashed in downhill training.

For sure it was good news that I got before the race, Janka said. It really boosted my morale and I would say that I share this medal with him. It's a great day for Swiss skiing and we hope we will soon see Daniel back with us.

Janka also claimed his first World Cup win in a giant slalom on the same Bellevarde piste in December.