Intro:

Marcel Hirscher has won the men's slalom in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

The victory also gave the Austrian the overall season title in the discipline.

Script:

The men's slalom title for the season came down to the wire in Lenzerheide in Switzerland.

On a challenging course criticised by several for being at odds with the soft snow conditions, Marcel Hirscher took full advantage of being the first to race by posting a time of one minute 6.99 seconds.

No racer was able to beat him, with Felix Neureuther of Germany coming closest just 0.06 seconds slower.

Olympic champion Mario Matt was third fastest, trailing a significant 1.03 behind Hirscher.

Matt held firm on his second run to lead the standings with just the top two racers remaining and guarantee himself a place on the podium.

There was plenty at stake for both Neureuther and Hirscher - providing both finished in the top four, it was a straight contest between the pair of them to take both the race and the overall season title.

Neureuther was the first down the course and posted a competitive time that he seemed to be content with.

But it was Hirscher who had the last word.

Despite a messy midsection to the course that saw him lose his advantage over Neureuther, he produced a storming finish.

His aggressive style more than compensated for a lack of finesse round the gates, as he defied the sluggish conditions to record a combined time of two minutes 7.74 seconds, 0.76 seconds ahead of Neureuther.

It capped a memorable two days for Hirscher who added the slalom trophy to his third straight overall title that he clinched on Saturday.