Olympic champion Clement Noel wins World Cup slalom for his 2nd victory in two weeks

GURGL, Austria (AP) — Olympic champion Clement Noel held on to his commanding first-run lead to take a men’s World Cup slalom Sunday for his second win in two weeks and 12th overall.

The Frenchman lost time in the final run but still finished 0.43 seconds ahead of Kristoffer Jakobsen, denying the Swedish skier what would have been his first World Cup win.

Atle Lie McGrath of Norway, who was second after the opening run, dropped to third, 0.44 behind.

Noel also won the season-opening slalom in Finland a week ago for his first World Cup victory in 22 months.

“It's for sure really, really important," Noel said when asked in a course-side TV interview about starting the season with back-to-back wins.

“We all want to be fast, we all want to win some races, but I know there is some really tough competition. So, I'm more than happy to win today.”

Noel’s French teammate Steven Amiez placed fourth for his career-best result, with his father, 1996 slalom World Cup winner Sebastien Amiez, watching from the finish area.

World champion Henrik Kristoffersen, who was runner-up to Noel last week, improved from 13th position to finish sixth.

Watched by 9,800 spectators, Noel positioned himself for the win with a dominating opening run.

The Frenchman raced flawlessly down the Kirchenkar course to build a big lead of more than eight-tenths as many racers struggled on the icy steep, with McGrath and Amiez the only racers to finish less than a second off the lead.

“It was difficult for me as well. The feeling was tough, the snow is very icy,” said Noel, who overcame some mistakes in his final run.

“The feeling was not so good for everyone, it was a real battle. In the second run, I was confident at the start, but then I had a really bad feeling ... I was not really sure that it was enough to win."

Out of the 62 starters for the first run, 18 didn't finish.

Slalom World Cup champion Manuel Feller was among the fastest starters but straddled a gate shortly after the first split time, a week after he also failed to finish the first race of the season.

Feller, who led an Austrian sweep of the podium in Gurgl last year, finished fifth or better in each slalom on his way to winning the discipline title.

Feller’s predecessor as the slalom season champion, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, and Austrian great Marcel Hirscher both straddled a gate midway through their runs as well.

Pinheiro Braathen returned to the circuit this season with two fourth-place finishes after a one-year break and a switch from the Norwegian to the Brazilian federation.

Hirscher is the record eight-time overall champion and six-time winner of the slalom globe. He came out of retirement after five years this season to start for the Netherlands. Last week he finished his opening run too far behind to qualify for the second.

German skier Linus Strasser, who won the classic races in Kitzbuehel and Schladming last season, finished the opening run outside the top 30 and didn’t qualify.

There are no men's World Cup races next weekend as the circuit travels to Beaver Creek, Colorado for a downhill, super-G and giant slalom on Dec. 6-8.

Sweden's Kristoffer Jakobsen celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Gurgl, Austria, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

France's Clement Noel speeds down the course during the second run on his way to win an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Gurgl, Austria, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

France's Clement Noel, center, winner of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, celebrates with second-placed Sweden's Kristoffer Jakobsen, left, and third-placed Norway's Atle Lie McGrath, in Gurgl, Austria, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

France's Clement Noel celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Gurgl, Austria, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

France's Clement Noel, right, celebrates winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Gurgl, Austria, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

Austria's Manuel Feller speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Gurgl, Austria, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

Netherland's Marcel Hirscher speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Gurgl, Austria, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen concentrates ahead of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Gurgl, Austria, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Gurgl, Austria, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

France's Clement Noel speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Gurgl, Austria, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

France's Clement Noel starts an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Gurgl, Austria, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia (AP) — Swiss skier Camille Rast earned her first career win in a World Cup giant slalom Saturday and then dedicated her victory to the victims of the fire at a Crans-Montana bar.

Rast tapped the black mourning band on her left upper arm twice after she finished her final run to beat second-placed Julia Scheib of Austria by two-tenths.

“This week, in my hometown, there was a tragical accident and I think about those families. We race for them, this weekend,” Rast said in a course-side interview.

Rast was born in Vétroz, a village about 40 kilometers from Crans-Montana in the Canton of Valais.

The fire in the crowded bar in the Swiss ski resort left 40 people dead and more than 100 injured during a New Year’s celebration.

Crans-Montana is set to host World Cup speed races for women on Jan. 30-31 and for men on Feb. 1, the last events before the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

Paula Moltzan finished 0.47 behind in third for the American’s second podium result of the season. Teammate Mikaela Shiffrin was just over a second behind in fifth.

Nina O’Brien in eighth and Elisabeth Bocock in 14th, matching her career best result from a GS in Sweden in March 2023, rounded off a strong showing by the U.S. ski team.

Scheib extended her lead in the GS standings as her closest challenger, New Zealand’s Alice Robinson, skied out in the first run for a second straight race, this time on a course set by her coach Nils Coberger.

A slalom on the same hill is scheduled for Sunday. There are no men’s World Cup races this weekend.

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

Switzerland's Camille Rast, center, winner of an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom, poses on the podium with second placed Austria's Julia Scheib, left, and third placed United States' Paula Moltzan in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Switzerland's Camille Rast celebrates winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Switzerland's Camille Rast celebrates winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Switzerland's Camille Rast speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women¥s World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Austria's Julia Scheib speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

United States' Paula Moltzan speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Switzerland's Camille Rast speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)