Hermann Maier won the super-G World Cup and captured the lead in the overall standings with an emotional victory in a super-G on his favourite piste today.
The formidable Austrian, who burst into the limelight with a super-G win in this Bavarian Alps resort in 1997, knocked compatriot Benjamin Raich off the top of the standings with his third win of the season.
Raich crashed out on the lower section of a tricky course, losing his balance coming out of a turn and sliding until he hit the safety netting lining the piste. He appeared to have not sustained any serious injury.
Maier, in his first full season since he nearly lost a leg in a motorcycle accident in 2001, clocked a winning time of one minute 18.09 seconds on a rough, icy Kandahar course.
The 31-year-old Maier, whose blend of technical skills and raw speed makes him the ultimate force in super-G, made sure with today's victory of winning the World Cup title for the discipline for the fifth time with two races remaining.
"This is one of my sweetest wins," Maier said. "To come back after all that and win my super-G globe back is just great. I had not expected it. This is very emotional."
Norway's Lasse Kjus, second 190 points back in the super-G standings, had his World Cup hopes crushed when knee surgery on Friday ruled him out for the rest of the season.
Double Olympic champion Maier shrugged off a challenge from Frenchman Pierre-Emmanuel Dalcin, who set the early pace with a great run before settling for a surprise second place, just 0.07 seconds back in 1:18.16.
It was his first appearance on a World Cup podium. "To be on the podium is a dream come true and to be on it with Hermann Maier makes it even more special," Dalcin said.