Skiing: Alexis Pinturault clinched his fourth World Cup victory in Garmisch
Last Updated: February 24, 2013 5:08pm
Frenchman Alexis Pinturault clinched his first World Cup giant slalom victory in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Sunday.
Pinturault clocked two minutes 32.42 seconds on the Kandahar course to beat Austrian World Cup leader Marcel Hirscher and triple world champion Ted Ligety of the United States.
It was the 21-year-old's fourth World Cup victory, all of which have come in different disciplines.
"It's a very important victory because giant slalom is the discipline in which I had my first podiums," said Pinturault, who was twice junior world champion in the speciality.
"I was not far, I was always close but I finally found my way to the top of the podium."
Below par in the morning run and suffering from influenza, slalom world champion Hirscher fought back in the second leg to finish 0.60 seconds adrift.
The Austrian increased his overall World Cup lead, heading Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal, who finished sixth in the German resort, by 209 points.
Garmisch-born Felix Neureuther was fastest in the first leg but cracked under pressure in the afternoon and finished 12th.
