NZSki head of race and events department Richard Murphy said the race had been requested by the Canadian ski team.
It was classified as a FIS race by the International Ski Federation, which ranks it just below a World Cup race.
"We were happy to put the race on with short notice. The event ran smoothly due to the good work of everyone involved, and it is always great to have a ski race finish on time."
The race was done as two runs along the 860m course at "the hurdle", which is visible from other slopes and attracted spectators among the other skiers and snowboarders at the skifield.
Winter Olympian Tim Cafe, of Queenstown, said he was happy the season was now in full swing.
"It is great to get the race season under way. It feels like we have been training on the snow here for ages," he said.
The snow cover at Coronet Peak had suffered a bit after rainfall on Sunday, but the ski racers praised the course and the snow conditions on the track.
Race-winner Robbie Dixon, who is training at Coronet Peak with his Canadian team-mates, said the snow was "just fine".
"Fitting a race in while we train here is great. Queenstown is my favourite place to train outside the Canadian ski season. The facilities are great both on and off the mountain," he said.
The New Zealand national ski racing team is also based at Coronet Peak for most of the season. Ben Griffin, who competed at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in February, finished with a share of fourth place in Wednesday's race.
"It was a great first race, and a fine result against some tough competition. But unfortunately I made a small mistake on the first run, which cost me a spot on the podium," he said.
Training and competing with international athletes was great for the New Zealand team, he said.
Next up is the New Zealand Skiing Masters, on at Coronet Peak today and tomorrow at the Rocky Gully area.
Top 10 results from the men's giant slalom. -
Robbie Dixon, Canada, 1min 40.83sec, 1; Tyler Nella, Canada, 1min 41.25sec, 2; Ryan Semple, Canada, 1min 41.42sec, 3; Ben Griffin, New Zealand, 1min 41.69sec and Manuel Osborne-Paradis, Canada, 1min 41.69sec, 4=; Dustin Cook, Canada, 1min 42.07sec, 6; Trevor White, Canada, 1min 42.25sec, 7; Tim Cafe, New Zealand, 1min 42.50sec, 8; Pol Carreras, Spain, 1min 42.72sec, 9; Julien Cousineau, Canada, 1min 42.76sec, 10.
