Italy’s Daniele Bagozza claimed an upset win over Alpine Snowboard World Cup leader Benjamin Karl in the parallel giant slalom at Simonhohe.
Karl won three of the first four races and took bronze in the other to make for a dominant start to the season.
The Austrian banked a fifth straight podium place and at least a silver medal by reaching the big final, where he faced Bagozza who is best known for his slalom skills.
But Bagozza consigned Karl, racing on home snow, to a rare defeat by a margin of 0.43 seconds.
“It’s an amazing feeling, it was a beautiful day,” said Bagozza. “Racing against Benjamin is really challenging, he beat me four times in a row and that’s the first time I’ve beaten the slalom god, so I’m really, really happy.”