Austrian Marcel Hirscher edged defending champion Ted Ligety of the United States to win his fourth career Alpine Ski Men's World Cup giant slalom race on Sunday.
Hirscher won with a combined two-run time of 2mins 38.45 secs to edge Ligety by .16 of a second with Germany's Fritz Dopfer third with a 2:39.07 total time. Dopfer had never cracked the top 10 in a prior World Cup race.
Ligety had the best time in the opening run, defying light fog and falling snow in a run of 1:18.53 to lead Hirscher by 0.21.
But in the second run, Hirscher topped the speed charts with a run of 1:19.71 while Ligety was only fourth-best in the final run at 1:20.08.
Ligety was on pace for the victory at the first interval but a bobble near the bottom gave the triumph to the 22-year-old Austrian, who had finished third on the same hill last year.
"I thought that it was impossible to beat Ligety because he's the best in the world," Hirscher said. "But having beaten Ted, it's also important for me in my quest to finish the season on top."
Ligety, who has won three of the past four overall giant slalom World Cup season titles, won the season-opening giant slalom race at Soelden, Austria, in October and leads the giant slalom standings by 180-140 over Hirscher.
Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal finished ninth to stretch his lead on Swiss Didier Cuche, who was 12th on Sunday, in the overall points chase to 294-260 with Swiss Beat Feuz in third another 14 points adrift.
The start was at 3,136 meters, an elevation that left Hirscher wiped out after his winning effort.
"With the high elevation I?m totally done," he said. "I tried to do my best. It was amazing. Three or four years ago, I hated this place. Things are going to change now. It was hard work but an amazing victory."
With the International Ski Federation calling off races next week in Val d'Isere, France and rescheduling races for next week at Beaver Creek, the elite men's ski racers will stay in Colorado for two more Rocky Mountain runs.
Another men's giant slalom race will be staged at Birds of Prey on Tuesday with a slalom race to be staged next Thursday and a women's Super-G as well on Wednesday.
Copyright 2011 AFP Global Edition
