Are, Sweden » Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway clinched his second overall World Cup title by a record-low two-point margin on Saturday, winning when Benjamin Raich of Austria straddled a gate in the opening run of the final slalom of the season.

"I could have clinched it in the giant slalom yesterday, but now it was up to Raich and he skied out," Svindal said. "Today I was lucky. It's not luck to get over 1,000 points in the World Cup. But to win by two points after he skis out is luck."

Bode Miller, the defending men's overall champion, sat out the last three weekends in Europe and skipped the World Cup finals. The American did not win a race this season has yet to decide on retirement.

Svindal competed in the first three races -- the downhill, super-G and the giant slalom -- at these finals despite a cold and high fever at night.

Mario Matt of Austria won the race in a two-run total of 1 minute, 45.71 seconds for his 12th World Cup victory.

Jean-Baptiste of France won the slalom championship with 541 points after finishing third behind countryman Julien Lizeroux. Croatia's Ivica Kostelic (454 points) took second in the slalom standings.

Raich, the only skier who could catch Svindal, trailed the Norwegian 1,009-1,007 going into the final race of the season. That proved to be the final standings as both were disqualified Saturday.

Raich straddled a gate about halfway down the run.

The 26-year-old Svindal, a speed event specialist who also won the overall title in 2007, missed the fourth gate. It was not a big surprise because he did not qualify for the second run in a single slalom race this season.

The Norwegian made a strong comeback this season after crashing heavily in downhill training at Beaver Creek, Colo., in November 2007, injuring his face, ribs and back.

Women's giant slalom

Tanja Poutiainen of Finland clinched the World Cup giant slalom title by finishing second to Tina Maze of Slovenia in the final GS race this season. Overall champion Lindsey Vonn of Park City fell and missed a gate at the top of the course and didn't qualify for the second run.

Maze led after the opening run and won in 2 minutes, 26.41 seconds for her eighth career World Cup win. Poutiainen was 1.12 behind, and Manuela Moelgg of Italy was third, 1.39 back.

Vonn ended up eighth in the GS standings, and she topped the final overall standings with 1,788 points. She also picked up crystal globes in the downhill and the super-G this season. Germany's Maria Riesch finished second with 1,424 and Zettel third with 1,059.

Nordic combined

In Vikersund, Norway, Anssi Koivuranta of Finland closed in on the overall World Cup title by holding off Bill Demong of the U.S. to win a Nordic combined event.

Koivuranta won the ski jumping portion and then held his lead in the 10-kilometer cross-country race Saturday, finishing in 26 minutes, 3.9 seconds. Demong, of Vermontville, N.Y., finished 6.5 seconds back.