Austria's Marcel Hirscher recovered from a mid-race wobble to claim his 49th World Cup win in the night slalom at Madonna di Campiglio in Italy on Friday to go top of the overall standings.
The six-time overall World Cup winner finished just ahead of world champion Luca Aerni of Switzerland and Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen, winner of the previous two editions.
In the Dolomites resort, Hirscher had the fastest time in the first run and managed to hold a 0.04sec advantage on Aerni with Kristoffersen at 0.05, allowing the Austrian to reclaim the overall World Cup lead from the Norwegian.
Hirscher fought back after from two major errors mid-way down the second run which could have cost him victory.
The experienced Austrian -- whose preparation for the season was hampered by a fractured left ankle last August -- managed to find a way to regain his speed.
He moves just one win away from legendary Italian Alberto Tomba's 50 World Cup victories.
"It's a great honour to be just behind Tomba," said Hirscher, who had not won in the Italian resort of Madonna since 2012.
Hirscher moves 29 points ahead of Kristoffersen in the overall standings but Kristoffersen leads the Austrian in the slalom standings despite having not yet won a race this season with six podium finishes.
It was Hirscher's fourth win of the Winter Olympic season, coming on the legendary Canalone Miramonti slope where he had a narrow miss two years ago when a drone camera fell from the sky as he was coming down the piste.
The 28-year-old was an Olympic slalom silver medallist at Sochi in 2014, and with the 2018 Games just over a month away from February 9 to 25, he looks like the man to beat at Pyeongchang.
In an extremely competitive race Switzerland's Daniel Yule finished fourth at 0.07, ahead of other outsiders such as Austrian Manuel Feller and Britain's Dave Ryding.
The World Cup tour next heads to Bormio in the Italian Alps for the downhill on December 28 and combined the following day.
Source: AFP
GMT 18:05 2018 Sunday ,21 January
Impey steals surprise Tour DownGMT 09:10 2018 Sunday ,21 January
Kyrgios topples idol Tsonga in electric clashGMT 09:03 2018 Sunday ,21 January
calls for greater Slam prize moneyGMT 15:17 2018 Monday ,15 January
'Simply the best' Hirscher wins World Cup slalomGMT 17:48 2018 Sunday ,14 January
S. Africa's Markram falls short of centuryGMT 17:45 2018 Sunday ,14 January
Medvedev overhauls de MinaurGMT 20:20 2018 Saturday ,13 January
Wilder to defend against unbeaten OrtizGMT 20:13 2018 Saturday ,13 January
Zach Johnson seizes share of PGA Sony OpenMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor