Lucas Braathen leads the first run of the World Cup slalom race
ADELBODEN, Switzerland (AP) — Lucas Braathen set the fastest first time in a World Cup slalom Sunday at a course that outsmarted several top contenders.
Braathen was 0.52 seconds ahead of Loïc Meillard from Switzerland, who finished third in the giant slalom on Saturday. Linus Strasser of Germany was third with a 0.60 to catch up in the afternoon run.
Just four racers were within a second of Braathen, including his Norwegian teammate Atle Lie McGrath in fifth place. Norway also had Timon Haugan in sixth place but will be without two strong opponents in the second race.
Henrik Kristoffersen, the World Cup slalom standings leader, ended up outside the top 30 racers qualifying for stage two and World Champion Sebastian Foss-Solevaag skidded out halfway.
Kristoffersen, who got the best race surface as the No. 1 starter, went off the line after just 20 seconds and had to hike a few steps up the slope to continue his race. He then set the fastest split times to the finish, but finished more than four seconds behind Braathen.
Olympic champion Clément Noël was the next to start and was eliminated by a tricky combination of gates on the characteristically steep final slope of the famous Chuesnisbärgli ski jump.
Braathen leads on the course where he sustained a season-ending knee injury two years ago when he fell across the finish line in classic giant slalom. On his return last year, he stopped his giant slalom run just before the drop at the finish instead of tackling the slope again.
“Of course I don’t have the best experience with the giant slalom in Adelboden, but the slalom was a pretty good experience,” said Braathen on Sunday after his run. “I have to separate the two.”
The 22-year-old Norwegian has a good record in Swiss slalom, winning in nearby Wengen last January when he had placed 29th in the first heat.
Sunday’s race got under heavy cloud cover and temperatures rose from 2 degrees Celsius (36 Fahrenheit) to continue the unseasonably warm European winter.
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