AUSTRIAN ski star Marcel Hirscher captured a sixth World Cup slalom crown on Tuesday despite crashing out of the city event in Stockholm in the quarter-finals.

The 29-year-old defeated Frenchman Victor Muffat-Jeandet in the first round of the parallel slalom format – enough to guarantee Hirscher another crystal globe.

He was later eliminated by eventual winner Ramon Zenhaeusern in the last eight, keeping Hirscher on five slalom wins this season along with the gold he claimed at last week’s world championships in Are.

Tuesday’s city event featured 16 of the world’s top slalom skiers, with racers going head to head against one another in each round.

Clement Noel, Hirscher’s closest rival in the slalom standings, crashed out in the first round after straddling the final gate.

With a lead of 275 points over Noel before arriving in Stockholm, Hirscher just needed to advance beyond the first round to clinch a sixth slalom title in seven years.

Two races left

There are only two more slalom races left on this year’s World Cup calendar, at Kranjska Gora in Slovenia on March 10 and the season-ending event in Andorra a week later.

Hirscher is well on course for a record-extending eighth overall World Cup crown. He leads France’s Alexis Pinturault by 480 points with a dozen races left.

Switzerland’s Zenhaeusern beat home favourite and reigning Olympic slalom champion Andre Myhrer in Tuesday’s final, while Austrian Marco Schwarz backed up his world championship bronze medal by finishing third.

It was the 26-year-old Zenhaeusern’s second World Cup win, following his victory in the same event last season.

He also helped Switzerland take gold in the team event at the world championships a week ago.