Austrian Strolz nets debut World Cup win in slalom upset
Adelboden (Switzerland) (AFP) – Austrian Johannes Strolz emerged the surprise winner of Sunday's slalom in Abelboden for the 29-year-old's breakthrough success on the World Cup circuit.
Issued on:
Placed seventh, at only 0.17s adrift, after the first run, Strolz came through the pack in snowy conditions to deny his compatriot Manuel Feller.
Feller, matching his second in the giant 24 hours earlier, had shared the lead after the first run with another Austrian, Fabio Gstrein, who failed to finish.
Germany's Linus Strasser completed the podium.
Swiss skier Marco Odermatt, who won Saturday's race but who is bypassing the slaloms, heads the overall rankings by 376 points from Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.
Less then a second had split the top 24 skiers after the first leg on the Chuenisbargli slope.
The technically demanding course had caught out the two leaders of the season's slalom standings - Norwegian Sebastian Foss-Solevaag and Swede Kristoffer Jakobsen.
Another failing to finish was Clement Noel, winner of the season-opening race at Val d'Isere.
Defending overall champion Alexis Pinturault was well placed in fifth but the Frenchman came unstuck in the afternoon.
© 2022 AFP