Hirscher wins men's World Cup giant slalom

Four-time defending World Cup overall men's champion Marcel Hirscher of Austria won Sunday's men's giant slalom race at Beaver Creek, his second US triumph in as many days.

Hirscher, who won the Super-G Saturday on the Colorado piste, took the giant slalom Sunday with a combined two-run time of 2mins 32.58secs.

France's Victor Muffat-Jeandet was second, .98 of a second adrift, with Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen third on 2:33.89.

Hirscher's 15th giant slalom win marked the most for an Austrian.

"It's great to be on the top of slalom and giant ranking. It is really amazing," said Hirscher. "I hope I can bring this momentum back in Europe. I'm happy with my skiing."

Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal, the World Cup overall leader, did not start, allowing Hirscher to seize the giant slalom points lead and move to second in the overall standings.

American Ted Ligety, runner-up in a Saturday Super-G, failed to finish the first run.

"I was in good shape, but the snow was super aggressive, much more than yesterday," Ligety said. "I wasn't skiing good anyway. I was just trying to have a feeling for it.

"A lot of guys were having problem with how much the snow transformed overnight. It was so cold last night, so that catches a lot of guys out. It's big part of it."
Source: AFP