SOELDEN, Austria, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- American Ted Ligety won the men's World Cup giant slalom in Austria Sunday by the largest margin in 34 years.
Ligety turned in a combined two-run time of 2 minutes, 36.02 seconds, a hefty 2.75 seconds ahead of Manfred Moelgg of Italy.
The U.S. Ski Association said the margin of victory was the widest in a World Cup giant slalom since Swedish legend Ingmar Stenmark posted a 4-second victory.
Ligety battled through tough lighting, soft snow and blizzard conditions in the season opener, which he said prompted him to be more aggressive.
"I was taking a ton of risk and fortunately it paid out," said Ligety, who is pursuing his fourth World Cup title in the giant slalom. "In hindsight it might not have been the smartest approach because it would have been easy to blow out at any point."
