Marco Odermatt secures World Cup alpine skiing title in dramatic fashion in Tahoe Palisades

Marco Odermatt secured his third successive alpine skiing World Cup title with a nerve-shredding giant slalom victory in Tahoe Palisades.

Swiss star Odermatt last tasted giant slalom defeat at the same venue 12 months ago when he surrendered a halfway lead.

He very nearly met the same fate this time round but recovered late in his second run to win his seventh and title-clinching giant victory of the season.

“It was very tight today,” he said. “I had not a bad feeling, but I knew I had to push in the last bit, I knew I could ski faster there than the others and it was definitely needed.

“Hopefully everyone watching this race loved it, we loved it, the crowd was amazing. The slope was fun and the snow was good so hopefully we come back here.”

Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen claimed second in California, just 12 hundredths of a second off the Olympic champion, while River Radamus proved a very popular bronze medallist on home snow.

After Sunday’s slalom event, Odermatt’s victory tour heads to Aspen next weekend where the 26-year-old will be bidding to stretch his unbeaten giant slalom run to 11 races.