Just 0.03sec separated first and second place at the Winter Games Australia New Zealand Cup giant slalom race at Coronet Peak yesterday.
Canadian Erik Read, who backed up his gold in the first giant slalom race on Tuesday, beat Austrian Magnus Walch, who had to settle for silver for the second time this week.
Walch lead Read by 0.20sec after the first run of the day but the Canadian put the hammer down in the second run to record a time of 54.79sec for a combined 1min 46.46sec, just edging out the Austrian, who clocked a combined 1min 46.49sec.
The winner of the first run, Trevor Philp, of Canada, in 51.14sec was disqualified on his second run.
Read said yesterday’s race was the most challenging of the week.
"To do it by 300ths of a second, there’s just nothing in it. I was really pleased to win the first day and to do it a second time just solidifies it for me."
Twizel’s Willis Feasey was the best of the New Zealanders in sixth place with a combined time of 1min 47.34sec, beating team-mate Adam Barwood in 13th spot.
Feasey also won the ANC giant slalom yellow bib as the top Australian or New Zealand skier during the week’s downhill competitions.
Chief of race Hannah Hazeldine said the seven-race downhill series was a success.
"With so many of the world’s top athletes in the region training, we have seen probably the best fields this week of any ANC and Winter Games competitions."
Many of the athletes who raced in the series would now go on to compete at northern hemisphere World Cup events and the 2018 Winter Olympics, Hazeldine said.
