Odermatt finished with a combined time of 2min 18.61sec to seal second spot along with Norway’s Lucas Braathen at Podkoren 3 in the Slovenian resort.

Although Kristoffersen denied Odermatt a fifth giant slalom victory of the World Cup season with 2:18.28, the Swiss skier’s second-place finish was enough to clinch his first-ever crystal globe.

With two giant slalom races left this season, including a second one in Kranjska Gora tomorrow, Odermatt has secured an unassailable lead at the top of the standings with 560 points, 217 ahead of Kristoffersen in second.

The 24-year-old had finished second to France's Alexis Pinturault in the giant slalom rankings last season. 

"Wining a globe is maybe not as emotional as the moment you cross the line and win a race," Odermatt, winner of the Olympic gold medal in the discipline at Beijing 2022, said.

"But when I hold that globe in my hand, I will be proud."

Odermatt also strengthened his position as the overall FIS Alpine Ski World Cup leader, increasing the gap between himself and Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde to 207 points with five races remaining, including the FIS Alpine World Cup Final, featuring one race in each of the four disciplines, due to start on Wednesday (March 16) at French resort Courchevel. 

Braathen took the lead in Kranjska Gora when he produced a first-run time of 1:09.55.

Italy’s Luca De Aliprandini sat second at the halfway point after clocking 1:09.76, followed by Kristoffersen and Austria’s Stefan Brennsteiner.

Odermatt was in fifth before moving up to second after following up an opening run of 1:09.96 with a time of 1:08.65 in the second.

Kristoffersen then moved ahead as he came down in 1:08.46 before being guaranteed victory when Braathen posted 1:09.06 to drop to joint second.