Olympic GS champion Odermatt dominates ski World Cup opener

Winner Marco Odermatt of Switzerland celebrates after the second round of the Men's Giant Slalom race of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season opener on the Rettenbach glacier in Soelden, Austria, Oct. 23. EPA-Yonhap

Olympic giant slalom champion Marco Odermatt dominated the season-opening men's World Cup race Sunday, beating the field by more than seven-tenths of a second for his 12th career win.

The Swiss skier had a near-flawless first run and overcame a few mistakes in his second on the steep glacier in the Austrian Alps to finish .76 seconds ahead of Zan Kranjec of Slovenia.

Henrik Kristoffersen finished .97 behind in third, ahead of Norwegian teammate Lucas Braathen, who dropped from second after the opening run to fourth.

“I was not sure (the first-run lead) was enough, this was really a big fight. The snow got worse and worse. Everybody made some mistakes,” said Odermatt, who also won the race last year for the first of his five GS victories on the road to his first overall title.

American skier Tommy Ford posted the fastest time in the second run to climb from 26th to sixth position. River Radamus was the leading contender for the U.S. ski team after the opening run but dropped to 26th.

The race was watched by 14,000 spectators in sunny conditions under blue skies, a day after the women's race was canceled due to rain and wet snow. (AP)