Norwegian skier Foss-Solevaag dominates slalom for 1st win

FLACHAU, Austria (AP) — Sebastian Foss-Solevaag won his first World Cup slalom in dominating style on Sunday.

The Norwegian skier clocked the fastest time in both runs to beat Marco Schwarz by 0.76 seconds, a week after the Austrian had captured his first career win.

Foss-Solevaag became the sixth different winner in six slaloms this season. He had three previous podiums in the discipline, most recently at a night race in Italy in December.

Overall World Cup leader Alexis Pinturault climbed from eighth position after the opening run to third, 0.95 behind Foss-Solevaag.

The Frenchman is a strong favorite for the overall title after his main rival, defending champion Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Kilde tore ligaments in his right knee in a crash during super-G training in Austria on Saturday and the Norwegian was set to undergo surgery in Innsbruck on Sunday.

Fabio Gstrein, who was second after the opening run, missed his first career podium after dropping to fifth.

A day after winning on the same Hermann Maier course, Manuel Feller had a costly mistake on his final run. The Austrian just avoided skiing out and finished 17th.

Henrik Kristoffersen, who won the season-long slalom title last year, finished seventh. The Norwegian changed his equipment overnight and used new boots and skis after finishing 18th in Saturday’s race.

Clement Noel and Linus Strasser were among the favorites who failed to finish their opening runs.

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