Hoffmann, who cites double Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic champion Marcel Hirscher as his idol, topped the standings comfortably after the first run at Les Diablerets Alpine Centre.

He conquered the icy conditions to record a time of 1min 2.50sec.

Sweden’s Adam Hofstedt was the closest challenger at the midway point of the event as the super-G champion was 0.60sec off the pace.

Hofstedt’s challenge faded in the second run of the competition, however, and he finished outside the top three positions.

Hoffmann had no such issues as the 17-year-old powered down the course in a time of 1:03.81.

He ended with the fastest times in both runs of the competition and finished in an overall 2:06.31, which proved too good for his rivals.

"The harder the better for me,” said Hoffmann.

"The hard conditions here mean you have to have good technique.

"This hill suits me very well.

"I had a good slalom in the combined, so I was very confident about this giant slalom."

There was delight for the home crowd as Swiss skiers earned silver and bronze medals in the competition.

Sandro Zurbruegg finished 2.54 seconds off the pace to clinch silver medal in 2:08.85.

His team-mate Luc Roduit completed the podium by winning bronze in 2:08.89.