Odermatt wins again in Garmisch as another big crash hits Cortina

Swiss ski star Marco Odermatt sealed his ninth win of the World Cup season in the super-G in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Sunday, but the women's race in Cortina d'Ampezzo was again marred by crashes.

A day after his fourth place in the first race on the Kandahar piste, the 26-year-old defending World Cup champion showed a much improved performance to extend his lead at the top of the overall and discipline standings.

"You could tell during the inspection that the piste was much harder than yesterday. They did a great job. It was a completely different race to yesterday," Odermatt told SRF.

"We only have one more speed weekend before the season finale and of course it's great if you can go into the races with a lead in the battle for the globes."

Austrian Raphael Haaser was 0.30 seconds adrift in second, with Swiss skier Franjo von Allmen a surprise third.

Immediately before the race, former top German skier Josef Ferstl, 35, bid farewell to fans and active competitive sport with an out-of-competition run.

Switzerland's Olympic champion Lara Gut-Behrami won the women's super-G in Cortina but the victory was again overshadowed.

Canadian skier Valerie Grenier hit a bump and then the icy piste at high speed before skidding into the netting. She was treated for several minutes and transported away on a rescue sled. Kajsa Vickhoff Lie was also hurt after crashing.

Defending World Cup champion and leader Mikaela Shiffrin crashed heavily in the downhill on Friday and skipped the other races in the Dolomites as a result. Shiffrin will also miss the giant slalom at Kronplatz on Tuesday as she recovers from a knee injury.

Gut-Behrami's 41st World Cup win meant she closed the gap on the American in the battle for overall season glory and took over at the top of the discipline standings.

Gut-Behrami underlined the current worries skiers have after a raft of recent crashes among women and men, with a packed schedule and melting snow amid climate change being blamed.

"I knew at the start that I couldn't take any risks today and had to make sure I was on both skis," she said.

"I wasn't fully focused. I knew it could be dangerous. I skied on the safe side today because it wasn't about racing for the win, it was about getting to the finish in good health."

Stephanie Venier from Austria, who won Friday's downhill, was 0.21 seconds behind in second ahead of Frenchwoman Romane Miradoli.

Norwegian Ragnhild Mowinckel, who won a first ever World Cup downhill on Saturday, placed fourth.