Finland’s Tanja Poutiainen beat local favourite Kathrin Zettel by the slimmest of margins to spoil the show for Austria in the opening giant slalom of the season in Soelden.

Poutiainen won in a combined time of two minutes 24.96 seconds, leaving last year’s winner Zettel just 0.01 adrift.

Italy’s Denise Karbon, fastest in the first run, faltered in the afternoon leg to finish third, 0.32s behind.

Didier Cuche ensured the Alpine skiing season opener remained in Swiss hands when he won the Soelden giant slalom.

Beaten into second place by compatriot Daniel Albrecht in the Austrian resort last winter, Cuche, who went on to win the discipline’s World Cup, clocked a combined time of two minutes 21.45 seconds to snatch his 10th World Cup victory.

Last year’s winner Albrecht was seriously injured in a training crash in Kitzbuehel on Jan. 22 and was in an induced coma for three weeks. He has not sufficiently recovered to start the new season.

The alpine skiing World Cup circuit opens today at the Austrian resort of Soelden with American star Lindsey Vonn leading a host of skiers with one eye firmly set on Olympic glory.

The 2010 Winter Games fall in February 12–28, bissecting the season which sees the women race 34 competitions and the men 35 in 25 resorts in Europe and North America.

“From the first race in Soelden to the end of the selection period in January it’ll be impossible to ignore qualifying for the Games,” acknowledged Swiss men’s head coach Martin Rufener.

It is all systems go for the opening World Cup event in Soelden following a positive weather bulletin.

Concerns were raised as a fortnight ago there was a significant snowless gap from the bottom part of the glacier to the finish area.

However, a cold front brought significant snowfall at the right time and the FIS have issued a positive bulletin.

In many places, the dry cold snow was additionally watered by hand so that we can prepare a compact and even base for all athletes,” said Hans Pieren, FIS race director for the men’s technical events.

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