Pinturault trumps Hirscher for giant slalom win

France's Alexis Pinturault kept his nerve to storm to victory in the World Cup giant slalom in Val d'Isere on Saturday. Pinturault, who led Marcel Hirscher by 0.67sec after the first run, clocked a combined time of 2min 2.62sec to finish 0.33sec ahead of the Austrian. Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen completed the podium, at 1.50sec. Pinturault's victory was his 17th on the World Cup circuit and his first on the infamous Face de Bellevarde in giant slalom. Olympic champion and defending three-time world giant slalom champion Ted Ligety of the United States skied out on the second run, having failed to threaten on the first. Hirscher remains in control of the overall World Cup standings, 76 points clear of Pinturault. "It's always a great, massive battle here. To win in front of my fans is always fabulous," said Pinturault. "To see all this crowd in full cry is a unique moment which I will remember forever," he told Eurosport.