Olympic champion Clement Noel leads the slalom at world championships after first run

By Canadian Press on February 16, 2025.

SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria (AP) — Olympic champion Clement Noel posted the fastest time in the first run of the men’s slalom at the Alpine skiing world championships on Sunday.

The Frenchman posted a time of 59.23 seconds and saw only Loic Meillard come close as the Swiss skier finished 0.19 behind.

Norwegians Atle Lie McGrath and Timon Haugan were third and fourth and had to make up 0.64 and 0.70, respectively, in the final run later Sunday.

Haugan won the last World Cup slalom before the worlds in Schladming and also triumphed on the course in Saalbach-Hinterglemm when the venue hosted the World Cup finals last year.

Germany’s Linus Strasser was the only other racer to finish within a second of Noel’s time.

Defending champion Henrik Kristoffersen, who leads the World Cup season standings in the discipline, finished 1.59 seconds off the pace.

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, aiming for Brazil’s first-ever medal at the skiing worlds, was 1.51 behind.

Noel won the 2022 Olympic title but is yet to win a medal at the worlds. His best result was fourth two years ago, when he missed the podium by three-hundredths of a second.

Noel has won 14 World Cup slaloms, including four this season.

France has not won a medal so far at the worlds.

Meillard could earn his third medal after winning the team combined with Franjo von Allmen and placing third in the giant slalom.

It would be the eighth medal in total for the Swiss men’s team, which won three of the four previous events.

Standings were provisional as lower-ranked skiers were still racing.

Sunday’s race is the 11th and final event of the worlds.

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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

The Associated Press

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