Heavy snowfall meant the first run was put back by 30 minutes as the course was cleared, but that did not affect Gross, who registered a combined time of 1 minute and 56.70 seconds to finish a mere 0.02 ahead of Germany's Fritz Dopfer and 0.03 clear of Austria's Marcel Hirscher.

Gross found himself in fourth place after clocking a first run time of 57.20 and although his second run time of 59.50 was only the seventh best overall, it bettered that of the three men above him - Dopfer, Hirscher and France's Jean-Baptiste Grange - and proved to be enough.

"It's an extraordinary day, this first victory gives it a very special taste," Gross told the FIS.

"Its amazing, it's an incredible day for me and my whole team.

"We worked hard this summer and the beginning of the season to achieve this result today.

"The second run was for sure difficult, but when everything is working everything feels easier."

Hirscher's third-place finish increased his lead in the overall World Cup standings to 212 points, ahead of Norway's Kjetil Jansrud on 624 points and Dopfer on 506 points.

Strong winds and poor visibility in the Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria led to the women's FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup super-G race being called off ©Getty Images



"I skied a strong second run but it was not enough for the top spot of the podium," said Dopfer, who is also third in the slalom rankings on 268 points.

"It was so close to a victory, I tried my best but it was not enough.

"Congratulations to Stefano, he had a great second run but I'm satisfied with my second place.

"All I was thinking was to push as hard as I could and hopefully cross the finish line with the green light, it was red in the end but nevertheless I had a great day."

Meanwhile in Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria, the third women's super-G race of the season was cancelled due to strong winds and poor visibility.

Following a night of warm temperatures, organisers initially delayed the start of the race to prepare the track and although the action eventually got underway, it was soon interrupted when fierce winds started blowing.

With conditions failing to improve and visibility worsening due to intense snowfalls, the race was eventually called off.

The next leg of the women's World Cup is scheduled to take place in Flachau, Austria with a night slalom on Tuesday (January 13).  

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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