Raich romps to easy win

The Austrian Olympic giant slalom champion eased down Adelboden's challenging Kuonisbaergli course in a combined time of two minutes 25.29 seconds to finish 0.85 seconds ahead of Italy's Massimiliano Blardone.

It was Raich's first win since his slalom triumph in Levi, Finland, during the season's opening weekend, and another welcome boost for the Austrian men's team.

After suffering an unusual slump in form following Raich's Levi victory, the Austrians have now won the last three men's World Cup races with Michael Walchhofer claiming back-to-back downhill wins in Bormio last week.

"I was feeling quietly confident after the first run," said Raich after celebrating the 25th World Cup win of his career.

"It was almost error-free and meant I could really fly down the way I like to in the second run."

Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal stretched his lead at the top of the overall and giant slalom World Cup standings after finishing Saturday's race in third place, a full second behind Raich.

"It's a really tough hill and when you do well here then it means you can do well anywhere," Svindal said. "I have had some great results in my last few races, so I'm skiing consistently and having a lot of fun."

Svindal holds a 68-point lead over Switzerland's Didier Cuche in the overall standings, following Cuche's seventh-place finish on Saturday.

American Bode Miller dropped down to third place, 99 points behind Svindal, after skiing out of the first leg.

Austrian slalom specialist Rainer Schoenfelder suffered a more bizarre exit when he was disqualified for starting his first run too early.

World Cup skiers have a 10-second window in which to leave the start hut, but television replays showed Schoenfelder setting off some four seconds before his slot.

The 29-year-old double Olympic bronze medallist banged his head in a training crash on Wednesday but told Austrian television he had "no explanation" for Saturday's gaffe.