ALTA BADIA, Italy -- Marcel Hirscher beat Olympic champion Ted Ligety by a large margin Sunday in an unusually bumpy World Cup giant slalom race for his third consecutive victory in technical events.
Extending his first-run lead, the three-time defending overall champion from Austria clocked a two-run combined time of 2 minutes, 30.17 seconds on a Gran Risa course with so little snow that it was much more rugged than usual.
"It was definitely one of the toughest races this season. It was like mogul skiing or moto cross skiing," Hirscher said. "But we're not searching for easy races. We're searching for challenges."
Ligety, the American who has twice won this race, moved up from seventh after the opening leg to finish second, 1.45 seconds behind. Thomas Fanara of France placed third, a further three hundredths back.
Unable to curve his usual smooth, high-arcing turns in the first run, Ligety altered his tactics for his second trip down.
"Second run I just tried to go and, whether it felt horrible or not, just try to follow the fall line more," said Ligety, who is competing with four screws inserted into his left hand after breaking his wrist in a training accident last month. "Whereas first run I was trying to be smooth and the snow wasn't letting me do it. I just kind of went with it more."
It was Hirscher's third career victory on the Gran Risa, having also won this race last year plus a slalom in 2011.
Italian great Alberto Tomba holds the record of four wins on the Gran Risa, while Massimiliano Blardone of Italy and Kalle Palander of Finland have also won three times.
"It was not always as fun as it is right now," Hirscher said of his solid form.
While Fanara is still seeking his first career win, this was his third podium result in Badia.
"Coming here is always inspiring," Fanara said. "And it also favors my technique. I feel very comfortable here."
In the overall, Hirscher moved within 70 points of leader Kjetil Jansrud, who finished 14th after winning a super-G in Val Gardena a day earlier.
In the GS standings, Hirscher holds a 74-point lead over Ligety.
Last weekend in Are, Sweden, Hirscher swept a giant slalom and slalom. He has finished on the podium in all six technical events this season, with four wins, one runner-up finish and one third-place result.
Conditions were clear and the temperature was near the freezing level but, with so little snow having fallen in the Dolomites this season, the course was made up almost entirely of artificial snow. And there wasn't enough snow to provide the smoothly groomed and icy surface that is usually associated with the Gran Risa.
Alexis Pinturault of France finished fourth and Feliz Neureuther of Germany was fifth, while Filip Zubcic of Croatia posted an impressive seventh-place result with the No. 64 bib.
Steve Missilier, another Frenchman, was having a solid second run until his left ski popped off when he hit a bump while approaching a gate.
The circuit moves to Madonna Di Campiglio for a night slalom Monday.
