Sölden, 23 October - Slovenian skier Žan Kranjec finished second in the opening giant slalom of the season in Sölden, Austria, bested only by Olympic champion Marco Odermatt of Switzerland, who won the overall World Cup last year.

Odermatt made a small mistake in the upper part of the second run but clocked a winning 2 minutes 4.72 seconds, with Kranjec, who was in third place after the first run, trailing by 0.76 seconds in the end.

Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway completed the podium in third, 0.97 seconds adrift.

This is the ninth World Cup podium finish for the 29-year-old Kranjec.

One more Slovenian was in the top ten as Štefan Hadalin finished 9th for a career best in giant slalom.