Olympic champion Noel earns 4th slalom win of season. Pinheiro Braathen gets 2nd podium for Brazil

KITZBUEHEL, Austria (AP) — Olympic champion Clement Noel won his fourth World Cup slalom of the season Sunday, triumphing after first-run leaders Timon Haugan and Steven Amiez both faltered on one of the most challenging courses on the circuit.

Noel climbed from fourth position to win the race, 0.09 seconds ahead of Alex Vinatzer of Italy while Lucas Pinheiro Braathen was 0.19 behind in third to earn his second podium result since his switch to the Brazilian federation.

Haugan, a one-time winner this season, posted the fastest time in the opening run but the Norwegian skied out of his second even before reaching the first split time. Amiez also fell early in his second run but the Frenchman still completed the course and ended at the back of the field.

The outcome left Noel as the only skier with more than one slalom victory this season.

“Kitzbuehel has been my favorite for a really long time,” said the Frenchman, who previously won the classic race in the Austrian resort in 2019.

“That was six years ago, and then I struggled a lot on this hill the last few races here. So, it's really crazy for me to win here today.”

Noel's triumph came with the Alpine skiing world championships nearing at another Austrian venue, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, where the men's slalom is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 16.

“Of course, my biggest goal of the season are still the world championships, but Kitzbuehel is close behind. This is so important for me,” Noel said.

Pinheiro Braathen, starting for Brazil this season after leaving the Norwegian federation and taking a year off, previously finished third in a slalom in Beaver Creek, Colorado, in December for Brazil's first ever World Cup podium in Alpine skiing.

“Kitzbuehel is my highlight... I was so nervous today, Kitzbuehel means so much to me,” Pinheiro Braathen told Austrian TV.

“This magic only exists here. For me, it's such a warm experience when I ski here, I'm just having fun and I'm smiling.”

Noel went top of the slalom standings, 29 points clear of world champion Henrik Kristoffersen. The Norwegian straddled a gate early in the rain-affected first run and failed to finish.

The rain became heavier during the race, limiting visibility for racers.

Albert Popov, winner of a night slalom in Italy last month, moved his finger like a windshield wiper after the Bulgarian finished his opening run 1.3 seconds off the lead. Popov ultimately placed 14th.

Dave Ryding, the first ever British skier to win a World Cup race when he triumphed in Kitzbuehel three years ago, shared 16th with his teammate Laurie Taylor.

The slalom concluded the 85th edition of the classic Hahnenkamm races, the World Cup event with the highest prize money, with each race winner earning 100,000 Swiss francs, compared to 47,000 for nearly all other races.

Next up are two night races: a GS and a slalom in Schladming on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

France's Clement Noel reacts after completing an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Kitzbühel, Austria, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

From left, second placed Italy's Alex Vinatzer, the winner France's Clement Noel and third placed Brazil' Lucas Braathen celebrate after an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Kitzbühel, Austria, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen reacts at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025.(Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

The winner France's Clement Noel celebrates with the team after an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Kitzbühel, Austria, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

The winner France's Clement Noel celebrates after an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Kitzbühel, Austria, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Kitzbühel, Austria, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

France's Steven Amiez speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Kitzbühel, Austria, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Norway's Timon Haugan speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Kitzbühel, Austria, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

HAVANA (AP) — A worsening fuel crisis across Cuba is testing the island's famed “almendrones,” the vintage American cars that serve as vital shared taxis and embody the island’s ingenuity and endurance.

These days, many of the iconic gas-guzzling antique cars sit idle, casualties of fuel shortages that have gripped Cuba since January and that Cuban officials blame on a U.S. energy blockade.

Outside his modest concrete-block home on a dirt road in Las Minas, a town of about 2,000 people on the outskirts of Havana, Diriel Valdez is restoring a 1951 Chevrolet Deluxe. The burgundy body is intact and the original engine still works. Finding fuel for it, however, is another matter.

Valdez is among thousands of Cubans waiting for fuel through a government reservation app that, for many, has become a symbol of the shortages it was designed to manage.

“I signed up in February ... I’m still somewhere around number 2,800,” said the 27-year-old who runs an auto body shop from his home.

The reward for the wait would be 20 liters (5.3 gallons) of gasoline — enough fuel, Valdez says, to get him to the beach.

The name almendrón comes from the Spanish word for almond, a reference to the rounded shape of the large American sedans imported before Cuba’s 1959 revolution.

For decades, sanctions, shortages and limited imports forced Cuban mechanics to become masters of improvisation. Engines were swapped, bodies rebuilt and replacement parts sourced from wherever they could be found.

On a recent night in Havana, as another blackout darkened much of the city, taxi driver Leonardo Daniel González steered a friend’s glowing purple 1948 Chevrolet Fleetmaster through the darkness.

“These cars are passed down from generation to generation,” said González, 30. “I had one that belonged to my great-grandfather. It went from him to my grandfather, then to my father, and then to me.”

Cuba is experiencing one of its most severe energy crises in years. The population, already battered by decades of economic crises and shortages, is now navigating daily blackouts that can last up to 20 hours in some parts of the island.

The country produces only about 40% of the fuel it consumes and depends heavily on imports to keep its power plants running and its transportation network moving.

Since January, the Trump administration has tightened sanctions on Cuba as an element of its ongoing pressure campaign against the island’s communist government. Trump also threatened tariffs on countries that sell or transport oil to Cuba, further complicating the island’s efforts to secure fuel supplies. Just a single Russian tanker has delivered oil to the island nation since then.

Standing beside his Chevrolet in Las Minas, Valdez, who runs the auto body shop, said the fuel shortage is also affecting his livelihood. He learned auto-body work from his stepfather and has been repairing classic cars since he was 13.

“People don’t want to do major repairs anymore,” he said. “A lot of them have their cars parked. They don’t have much hope that they’ll be circulating the way they used to.”

As gasoline becomes harder to obtain, many drivers are turning to Cuba’s black market, where fuel can often be found more quickly, though at significantly higher prices that can reach up to $8 per liter ($30 per gallon).

Omar Everleny Pérez, a former economist at the University of Havana’s Center of Cuban Economic Studies, said the country’s transportation system still depends heavily on almendrones because modern vehicles remain out of reach for most Cubans.

“They’ve been vital to the transportation of ordinary Cubans,” he said. “Not only in Havana but throughout the country.”

New vehicles have become available in Cuba in recent years, but at prices far beyond the reach of most state-sector workers, Pérez said. That has helped keep the aging American cars on the road, even as a different future is beginning to emerge on Cuba’s streets.

Electric motorcycles imported from China have become increasingly common. Small electric vehicles are also appearing, aided by a growing network of solar-powered charging stations promoted by the government as part of its push toward renewable energy.

Back in Havana, González is not ready to write off the almendrones. Despite the lack of fuel and a sharp decline in tourism, he can still make a living off the old Chevrolet.

“There are ... several WhatsApp groups for us to find rides and so on,” said González. “But tourism in Cuba is in very bad shape.”

Ariel Fernández in Havana contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

FILE - Drivers wait in a long line to enter a gas station in Bacuranao near Havana, Cuba, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File)

FILE - A man walks past a gas station that has run out of fuel, located near the U.S Embassy, pictured in the background, in Havana, Cuba, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File)

People traverse a street in Havana, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jorge Luis Banos)

Workers repair the sign at the Grand Aston Hotel in Havana, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)