COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. -- At age 34 and in his 81st World Cup event across 14 seasons, Stefan Brennsteiner finally got his first win Friday.
Brennsteiner took full advantage of Olympic champion Marco Odermatt skiing out in the first run of a giant slalom to win by a big margin of 0.95 seconds.
"It means a lot for me," Austria's Brennsteiner said. "The last years were quite good, but I had tough times in my career."
Norwegian veteran Henrik Kristoffersen was second despite seeming to struggle with his breathing at the finish area, where the altitude was around 9,850 feet in Colorado.
Filip Zubcic was third, one second behind the winner, with a fast second run to rise from 13th place.
Brennsteiner held the first-run lead by 0.26 but extended his advantage on the rougher snow for late starters in the afternoon. After his nearest challengers dropped in the standings, he padded his lead despite having just the 11th fastest time for the second run.
Odermatt, a winner of 27 World Cup giant slaloms in the past five years, failed to complete a race in the discipline for the first time since December at nearby Beaver Creek.
The Swiss star went out to post the fastest first-run time on a cold clear day in Colorado, where he lost control of his inside ski at a right-hand gate.
Odermatt's rare misfire came one day after he won a super-G to make it back-to-back wins this season. He is seeking a fifth straight World Cup overall title.
Brennsteiner had four previous World Cup podium finishes, all in giant slalom, including a second place in March 2022 at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.
Copper Mountain now hosts the women's World Cup circuit, starring record 103-time race winner Mikaela Shiffrin, this weekend.
A giant slalom Saturday is followed by a slalom Sunday, where Shiffrin will seek to add to her 66 wins in the event, the most by any skier in the World Cup's 59-year history.
The men move to Beaver Creek, where a three-race program starts next Friday with a downhill then super-G and giant slalom.