Previously her weakest event, Vonn claimed her second GS victory of the season to keep the title alive heading into the final week of the season.

However the win, by 0.48 seconds from Federica Brignone of Italy, ensured the American of a fourth overall title in five years.

Vonn led after the first run but a blistering second run by Brignone put the pressure on with the Italian searching for a first World Cup win.

But as so often this season Vonn came up with the goods when it mattered to stay ahead by almost half a second, with Brignone a further 0.57 ahead of Viktoria Rebensburg.

"I just wanted to have too really aggressive runs today, and I had nothing to lose," she said. "I'm just really excited."

Rebensburg leads Vonn by 95 points with one giant slalom race left in Schladming, with the American now in an unassailable 554 point lead over Tina Maze in the overall.