The Frenchman pipped Olympic slalom silver medallist Marcel Hirscher of Austria, the five-time defending World Cup champion, by 0.49 seconds with a combined time of 2min 25.01sec.

Hirscher fell agonisingly short on 2:25.50, with the bronze medal going to Faivre’s compatriot Alexis Pinturault, who finished third in the giant slalom race at Sochi 2014.

Pinturault clocked a combined 2:26.12, over a minute slower than his victorious team-mate.

Hirscher, bidding for a sixth straight overall Alpine Skiing World Cup crown, led after the first run having laid down a time of 1:11.62.

The Austrian, also a four-time world champion, endured an error-prone final run, which proved costly in his attempt at securing the gold medal.

A blistering second run from Favire handed the Frenchman his first-ever triumph at World Cup level as he powered down the course in 1:13.38 - the quickest posted by any athlete competing at the event.

Faivre had registered two World Cup podiums in his career before today’s competition as he was second in Yuzawa Naeba in February, which came before he came third in St Moritz the following month.

"It was a wonderful day," Faivre said.

"Training with the French team has really built up my confidence."

The result saw Hirscher move 80 points ahead at the summit of the overall standings on 280 points after Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud crashed out in the first run.

Jansrud remains in second place, while Pinturault’s bronze medal elevated him to third on 184 points.

The French resort, had stepped in to host a World Cup leg that was set to be held in Beaver Creek until organisers declared the course unsuitable because of a lack of snow, is due to hold the next men’s competition on December 10 and 11.

In the women's super-G in Lake Louise in Canada, Switzerland's overall World Cup holder Lara Gut took victory in an event which had to be shortened due to heavy snow.

The race was also subject to a delay, but Gut impressed when action finally got underway, clocking a time of 1:02.68 to edge Lichtenstein's Tina Weirather, who was 0.10 back.

Third went to Italy's Sofia Goggia, who navigated the course in 1:03.27.

Gut is second on the leaderboard on 330 points, 28 behind American Mikaela Shiffrin, who finished 34th today.

The next women's event is scheduled to be held in Sestriere in Italy on the same weekend as the men.