YONG PYONG, South Korea, March 1 (UPI) -- Switzerland's Michael von Grunigen won the 23rd giant slalom race of his career Saturday, while while Bode Miller chipped away at Stephan Eberharter's commanding lead in the fascinating race for the overall title.
Two weeks after finishing a disappointing seventh at the World Championships in St Moritz, Von Grunigen finished in 2 minutes, 26.68 seconds to edge Frenchman Frederic Covili.
American Bode Miller was third to move 133 points behind Eberharter in the overall World Cup standings, with his Austrian rival finishing a distant 23rd in this race.
Miller also is chasing Von Grunigen at the top of the giant slalom standings, and now trails by 97 points.
Covili was 0.17 seconds behind Von Grunigen with Miller 0.15 further back.
The Austrian team found it difficult to adjust to the difficult course conditions and soft snow and their leading finisher was Heinz Schilchegger.
Hans Knauss, the silver medal winner in St Moritz, was 15th.
Although Eberharter finished more than two seconds behind the winner, he is still in the driving seat for the overall title because Miller only scored three points last weekend in the two speed events held in Germany's Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Yet with five more technical races left this season, Miller still has a reasonable chance to challenge the Tyrolian until the finals in Lillehammer, Norway.
In the giant slalom standings, Von Grunigen's first win in nearly three months means he now leads the way by 97 points with two more races to go in Japan and Norway.
Von Grunigen's first career win came in January 1993, but he will bow out after Lillehammer and retire to his home town of Schoenried, near Gstaad.
Covili climbed to third in the giant slalom standings with his second-placed finish, but the attention was focused on those at the top and bottom of the podium.
Croatia's Ivica Kostelic and Finland's Kalle Palander, who both skied out in the first run on Saturday, will be two of the main favorites for the slalom. Kostelic, the new world champion, has a lead of 100 points on Palander in the slalom standings.
