Switzerland edged out fellow Alpine skiing powerhouse Austria to win the team event final at the Pyeongchang Winter Games on Saturday.

The gold medal effort by Denise Feierabend, Daniel Yule and slalom silver medalists Wendy Holdener and Ramon Zenhauesern gave Switzerland its second Alpine gold medal after Michelle Gisin's women's alpine combined victory.

(Getty/Kyodo)

A new addition, the team event pits squads of two men and two women in head-to-head races down a course marked with giant slalom gates. The Swiss, who have yet to win a world championship in the event, beat three-time champion Austria 3-1 at Yongpyong Alpine Centrein the gold medal "big final."

"For us skiers who usually are always doing an individual sport, to just do it all together like this for Team Switzerland, that was just amazing," said Yule.

Katharina Liensberger got Austria off on the right foot with a win in 21.21 seconds, but Michael Matt was disqualified for missing a gate in his race against Zenhauesern.

Holdener staved off slalom bronze medalist Katharina Gallhuber to give the Swiss the lead. Marco Schwarz's failure to finish after veering off track meant the Austrians had to settle for silver.

"It's just great to win with the team today," said Holdener, who also won a bronze in alpine combined. "I knew we could do it. I think everyone knows that, but in end, you just have to do it. (The) pressure was here."

In the bronze medal race, the "small final," Norway went 2-2 against France but won on the tie-break, the lowest combined times of each team's fastest man and fastest woman.

Despite the runner-up finish on Saturday, Austria will leave Pyeongchang topping the chart with three golds in alpine skiing: Marcel Hirscher in men's giant slalom and alpine combined and Matthias Mayer in men's super-G.