Marta Bassino beat her fellow Italian Federica Brignone by 0.14sec after the World Cup season-opening women's giant slalom on the Austrian glacier of Soelden on Saturday. Slovakia's Petra Vlhova was third in overcast conditions on firm, fast snow while American star Mikaela Shiffrin was absent through injury. Last year's winner the New Zealander Alice Robinson was fourth after the first run but took a gate wide on a nervy second descent. This is the first event since last season was brought to an abrupt halt in March because of Covid-19, and the pandemic means there were no fans, reduced media and no physical in-person interviews. rg/dmc/nr