Ted Ligety from the United States celebrates on the podium after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan.12, 2013. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
Ted Ligety from the United States celebrates on the podium after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan.12, 2013. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
Ted Ligety from United States competes during the first run of an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan.12, 2013. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
Ted Ligety from United States competes during the first run of an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan.12, 2013. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
Ted Ligety from United States competes during the first run of an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan.12, 2013. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
ADELBODEN, Switzerland (AP) ? Ted Ligety won a duel with Marcel Hirscher in a World Cup giant slalom Saturday for a career-best fourth victory of the season in his specialty event.
The 28-year-old American skied cleanly in the fast-fading light to take the victory after first-run leader Hirscher of Austria made a mistake on the dark slope.
Ligety was second after the first run, but finished 1.15 seconds ahead of runner-up Fritz Dopfer of Germany in a combined time of 2 minutes 28.67 seconds.
Ligety, who earned his 15th career World Cup victory ? all in giant slalom ? is third in the overall standings.
He celebrated with a small punch of his left fist after taking the lead on a course where he had never finished in the top three. He watched Hirscher's run on the giant screen in the finish area.
Hirscher, who won the GS at Val d'Isere, France, where Ligety placed third, led at every check point until losing his racing line a few gates from the finish and placed 16th.
Felix Neureuther of Germany was 1.24 back in third. Dopfer and Neureuther were eighth and ninth fastest, respectively, in the morning and enjoyed better racing conditions than Ligety as the sun slipped behind the mountains.
Hirscher retained his lead in the overall World Cup standings. The defending champion is 26 points ahead of Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway, who placed sixth on Saturday.
Ligety was rewarded for his acrobatic recovery in the morning run when he had skied wide at the top of the steep final slope.
"I made one really big mistake before the pitch right here and was out in the powder," Ligety told The Associated Press after the first leg.
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