Faivre leads Odermatt in 1st run of Alta Badia giant slalom

LA VILLA, Italy (AP) — World champion Mathieu Faivre held a slim advantage ahead of overall World Cup leader Marco Odermatt following the first run of the Alta Badia giant slalom on Sunday.

Faivre, who swept gold in both the traditional giant slalom and the parallel GS at last season’s world championships in nearby Cortina d’Ampezzo, led Odermatt by 0.02 seconds.

Odermatt won the opening two giant slaloms of the season.

Manuel Feller of Austria stood third, 0.19 behind, and River Radamus of the United States was fourth, 0.30 behind.

Radamus crossed the line in a deep crouch, just barely keeping it together as he lost control then spun out in the finish area. The American is in position for a career-best result, improving on his sixth-place finish at the season opener in Sölden, Austria.

The 23-year-old Radamus won three golds at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics.

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Andrew Dampf is at https://twitter.com/AndrewDampf