Having triumphed in Åre, Sweden and Alta Badia, Italy in December, Hirscher registered a combined time of 2min 39.11sec in testing conditions to finish ahead of France's Alexis Pinturault by 1.13 and Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen by 1.64.

Germany's Felix Neureuther was just 0.55 off the pace after his first run but a second run time of 1:23.13 saw Pinturault and Kristoffersen leapfrog him into the podium positions.

A combination of heavy rain last night, coupled with high temperatures today, made it extremely difficult for the competitors.

"You see how warm it is and how everyone is sweating," Hirscher said afterwards.

"It was a pretty tough race, especially as due to the temperatures the slope was pretty bumpy and soft.

"But I have to say thank you to the organisers.

"It's unbelievable to ski a World Cup race in 15 degrees weather so in general I'm super happy.

"It was a tough fight, especially in the last 10 gates."

Marcel Hirscher dealt best with the difficult conditions in Adelboden, Switzerland
©Getty Images



Pinturault was delighted with his runners-up spot having finished fourth in the Adelboden giant slalom last year and narrowly missed out on a podium place to team mate Thomas Fanara in Alta Badia last month.

"The second run was really tough, it was long and turny and the visibility was not great, you could hardly see anything on the course," he said.

"I just tried to ski well, think of my skis and finding the best line."

Norway's Kjetil Jansrud is second in the overall World Cup standings on 624 points, with Neureuther in third on 442 points.

The men's slalom, which Hirscher has won for the past three years, is scheduled to take place tomorrow.

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