The Austrian, uncharacteristically,  got into in a tangle with a gate flag, just as he appeared to be heading for the 24th giant slalom win of his World Cup career.

He had looked to be cruising after he had led after the first leg with a time of 56.74sec.

But the six-time World Cup champion made several mistakes in the second leg, including one where he struck a gate and ripped the flag off the top.

The flag got wrapped around his arm and was stuck there for several moments before he finally shook it off.

Hirscher lost precious time in the process and finished third with a total of 1min 51.72sec.

Pinturault finished more than half a second in front in 1:51.18, while Germany’s Stefan Luitz was second.

Ranked third after the opening run, Pinturault posted the fastest time in a flawless second leg.

It had been 11 months since Pinturault's last World Cup victory in Adelboden in Switzerland.

This was his 10th career victory in the discipline and 20th overall.

In the women's FIS Alpine Ski World Cup super-G event at St. Moritz in Switzerland, the surprise winner was Jasmine Flury in front of her home fans.

Her previous, career-best World Cup finish before today had been fifth.

American star Lindsey Vonn was treated by race doctors for a back injury having crossed the finish line in obvious distress, in 24th place and 1.56 seconds behind the winner. 

Flury finished one tenth of a second faster than team-mate Michelle Gisin.

Tina Weirather, of Liechtenstein, was third, having won the super-G last Sunday (December 3) at Lake Louise in Canada, where Flury was seventh.

The men are due to contest the slalom at Val d'Isère tomorrow and the women will tackle another super-G in St. Moritz.