Swiss skier Loic Meillard held a slim lead after the opening run of a men’s World Cup giant slalom on Sunday as the top-five finishers were separated by just 0.22 seconds.
Racing on a shortened course, which reduced run times to just over a minute, Meillard was 0.08 seconds faster than overall World Cup leader Henrik Kristoffersen.
Norway’s Leif Kristian Nestvold-Haugen, France’s Alexis Pinturault and Slovenia’s Zan Kranjec followed.
Norway's Leif Kristian Nestvold Haugen competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom, in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020. (AP PhotoAlessandro Trovati)
Organizers lowered the start gate after overnight rain had affected the course on the upper part for the slope.
Meillard has three podium results but is yet to win a World Cup race.
The four previous giant slaloms this season had four different winners, with Pinturault in Soelden, American Tommy Ford in Beaver Creek, Kristoffersen in Alta Badia, and Kranjec in Adelboden.
France's Alexis Pinturault competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom, in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020. (AP PhotoAlessandro Trovati)
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Slovenia's Zan Kranjec competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom, in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020. (AP PhotoAlessandro Trovati)