Kranjec wins World Cup giant slalom, leads standings

ADELBODEN, Switzerland (AP) — Zan Kranjec rode a wild second run down the steep Adelboden slope to win a World Cup giant slalom on Saturday and lead the season-long standings.

Sixth fastest in the morning run, Kranjec’s aggressive style took him 0.29 seconds ahead of Filip Zubcic, who got a career-best result.

Slovenian racer Kranjec made one early turn with his left ski raised high in the air, and swayed sharply off an ideal racing line making it through the final gates.

Tied for third place, Henrik Kristoffersen and Victor Muffat-Jeandet were 0.64 behind Kranjec.

Kristoffersen retook the lead in the overall World Cup standings, though conceded the giant slalom points lead to Kranjec.

First-run leader Luca De Aliprandini was ahead at the time checks when he skied out halfway down, sliding away on his right hip.

Fast-changing light at Adelboden again seemed to be a factor. The bright sunshine dives behind the surrounding mountains at around 2 p.m. local time, making the course darker and trickier for the first-run leaders to pick the best racing line.

The four men on the podium Saturday were all outside the top five going into the second leg, where the top 30 start in reverse order. None of the top five in the morning ended within one second of the winner.

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