Sensational Hirscher retains giant slalom globe

Marcel Hirscher claimed his fourth successive giant slalom globe and fifth in total with a devastating second run in Kranjska Gora on Saturday, putting him on course for a seventh overall title in a row.

The Austrian claimed Olympic gold in the discipline in South Korea and reasserted his dominance in the World Cup on Saturday, beating long-term adversary Henrik Kristoffersen by a stunning 1.66seconds.

After his opening run in Switzerland, Hirscher enjoyed a 0.73secs advantage over Kristoffersen, with the other main giant slalom candidate Alexis Pinturault 1.41secs back.

Pinturault improved in his second attempt to secure third place, and Kristoffersen looked quick as he put 0.85secs between himself and the Frenchman.

It was never enough to secure the race win, though, as Hirscher charged down the course, the 29-year-old particularly impressive in the bottom section.

His win secures the discipline globe with one race to run, Kristoffersen slipping 125 points behind ahead of the final event in Are later in March.

The battle for the overall title could be much closer, the Norwegian 269 points behind Hirscher with seven races across all disciplines still to come.

In Crans Montana, Tina Weirather moved a step closer to defending her super-G globe with a second victory of the season, the Olympic bronze medallist moving up to the top step on the World Cup's return.

Weirather lifted the first globe of her career last season and with one race left has a 46-point lead over Lara Gut – the only person who can catch her.

Gut had to settle for seventh on Saturday as Weirather produced a stunning run to stop the clock at 1:02.17 in Switzerland.

Pyeongchang silver medallist Anna Veith was again second on the podium, with Wendy Holdener completing the top three – and bring joy to the home crowd.