Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr entered the world Alpine skiing championships as the most decorated active World Cup racer without a major title. He will leave Cortina d’Ampezzo with a different label: world champion.
Kriechmayr, the 29-year-old favorite, prevailed in Thursday’s super-G by .07 of a second over 35-year-old Austrian-turned-German Romed Baumann. Frenchman Alexis Pinturault, the world’s top overall skier, took bronze.
Travis Ganong was eighth, matching the best finish for a U.S. man in a world championships race in six years.
Kriechmayr, the son of ski instructors who grew up working in the Muehlviertel family farm’s stables, owns eight World Cup victories.