Dale Begg-Smith has the chance to join French mogul skiing legend Edgar Grospiron as the greatest World Cup champion of all time when he takes his place at the top of the course in Sierra Nevada on Thursday night.

The Dual Olympic medallist is 72 points clear of Swede Jesper Bjoernlund in the battle for the 2010 title and 98 points clear of the only other skier who has a mathematical chance of taking the crystal globe, Frenchman Guilbaut Colas.

If the Australian can ski to ninth place or better in the Spanish finale, he will claim his fourth season title, matching Grospiron’s record.

Begg-Smith has already established his place as one of the best of all time, and another title would see him eclipse the performances of two other stars of the sport, Jean-Luc Brassard and Janne Lahtela, both of whom won three World Cup titles.

But he still has a way to go to oust Grospiron from the top spot in the mogul skiing pantheon – as well as his four World Cup titles, the Frenchman collected one gold and two bronze medals over two Olympic Games and one demonstration event together with three World Championship crowns.