Skiing: Alice Robinson records another top 10

New Zealand's Alice Robinson competes during the women's World Cup giant slalom in Courchevel, France. Photo / AP

18-year-old Kiwi skier Alice Robinson has recorded a top 10 finish in the third round of the World Cup Giant Slalom season in France.

Robinson has finished 10th in Courchevel in the French Alps after sitting seventh after the first run.

The fearless young Kiwi attacked the upper part of the course in the second run and was on track to threaten a podium finish. But a couple of mistakes saw her post a combined time of 2:13.57 which was 0.98 of a second behind the winner, Italian Federica Brignone.

Norway's Mina Fuerst Holtmann finished second after clocking the fastest time in the first run.

The conditions weren't ideal with strong winds affecting the upper part of the course and making it difficult for the later racers.

Robinson had stunned the Alpine skiing world by winning the season opener in Solden in Austria in October, in doing so becoming only the second Kiwi to ever win a World Cup race.

Defending champion and World Cup points leader American Mikaela Shiffrin was strangely off the pace, clocking the 19th fastest time in her opening run and finishing 17th overall.

Earlier Robinson laid down a solid marker in the first run with the seventh quickest time, clocking 1:07.64 seconds, just .49 of a second slower than Holtmann.

Robinson drops one place to sixth in the overall Giant Slalom standings, three points behind French star Tessa Worley. Brignone's win takes her to the top of the standings after three races.

Of the 66 starters the fastest 30 qualified for the second run which was held in reverse order. Robinson was seventh last to go.

Fellow Kiwi Piera Hudson had a disappointing day clocking 1:10.61 to finish 54th and not among the top 30 to earn a second run.

The next round of the World Cup is on December 28 in Lienz in Austria.