Eva-Maria Brem edged out her teammate Kathrin Zettel to win the women's World Cup giant slalom as Austrians claimed three of the top five spots.
The 26-year-old Brem, who was not chosen for the Austrian team that competed in the Sochi Winter Games earlier this year, delivered her first World Cup victory by beating Zettel by 0.59 seconds.
"Last season I was skiing well, but there was something missing, a spark, and now I am really enjoying myself," Brem said.
Brem took a big lead after the first run then charged down the course in the second run to finish in total time of two minutes, 5.97 seconds.
Italy's Federica Brignone was third in 2:07.33 while Tina Maze of Slovenia clocked a 2:07.38 to place fourth. Maze won the first slalom of the year in Levi, Finland earlier this month.
Austria's Michaela Kirchgasser rounded out the top five in 2:07.56.
American rising star Mikaela Shiffrin recovered in the second run from a huge first run mistake to finish sixth overall in 2:07.68.
The 19-year-old had been battling a virus this week. Shiffrin recorded the fifth fastest time in the second run after finishing 2.23 seconds back of Brem in the first leg.
"It seemed like an insurmountable gap," Shiffrin said. "I felt like I did a great job of attacking in the second run."
Zettel leads the World Cup overall standings after three races with 190 points. Shiffrin is second with 164 and Brem is third at 160.
Source: AFP