Alexis Pinturault tallied his fourth consecutive World Cup giant slalom win Friday at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. The race for the GS season title has narrowed to under 100 points.
Austrian skier Marcel Hirscher, who also leads the overall standings by a large margin, has 621 points in the GS discipline. Hot on his tail, Pinturault holds 530, 400 of which he has earned in the past four races. The French skier has never won a GS globe before.
Une magnifique victoire qui me permet d'egaliser le record de Jean-Claude Killy, fièr et honoré !#kranjskagora... https://t.co/xEuQApaRMN
— Alexis Pinturault (@AlexPinturault) March 4, 2016
"A great victory that has allowed me to match Jean-Claude Kelly's record," Pinturalt wrote in French on Twitter. "Proud and honored."
French skier Jean-Claude Kelly won four straight GS races in 1967. While the streak is impressive, Ingemar Stenmark took home an astounding 14 straight GS wins in the seasons of 1978-1980.
In the World Cup alpine circuit, the top 30 finishers earn points along a graduated scale. The winner earns 100 points, second place gets 80, third gets 60, and so on, with the 30th finisher earning one point.
"I feel great," Hirscher told the Associated Press. "It's a special moment for me. It was a difficult race but it's a happy end for me."
Two more GS races will be held this season: one on Saturday, and one in St. Morritz, Switzerland in two weeks. Hirscher can seal his victory on Saturday, or he can lose his lead.
Hirscher has expressed admiration in his competitor. "If Alexis keeps going on like this, he deserves that globe," Hirscher said, "I won races in the beginning of the season but never in the same style as Alexis."
