Matt leads Hirscher for Austrian 1-2 in 1st run of WC slalom
Michael Matt posted the fastest time and led six-time overall champion Marcel Hirscher for an Austrian 1-2 finish in the opening run of a men's World Cup slalom on Thursday.
Matt, the younger brother of 2014 Olympic slalom champion Mario Matt, completed the Crveni Spust course in 55.37 seconds, 0.21 faster than Hirscher.
Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway was 0.59 off the lead in third, while another Austrian, Manuel Feller, was more than a second behind in fourth.
Matt is looking for his second career victory after winning a slalom in Slovenia last season.
Hirscher, who leads the discipline and overall standings, has the chance to match Italian great Alberto Tomba's tally of 50 World Cup wins. Only Ingemar Stenmark (86) and Hermann Maier (54) have won more races on the men's circuit.
Oestberg, Iversen win mass start races in Tour de Ski
Norwegians Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg and Emil Iversen won mass start races on the fifth stage of the cross-country Tour de Ski on Thursday.
Oestberg, who won her third successive distance event, extended her lead in the sevenstage competition to 57 seconds over compatriot Heidi Weng, who was 11th in Oberstdorf.
Oestberg finished the women's 10-kilometer race in 23 minutes, 16.5 seconds, beating teammate Maiken Caspersen Falla by 1.9 and Finland's Krista Parmakoski by 3.2.
Oestberg also leads the overall World Cup standings by 36 points from Weng.
Despite finishing fourth in the men's 15-kilometer race, Switzerland's Dario Cologna stretched his lead in the Tour de Ski to 53 seconds over Sergey Ustiugov. The Russian was 28th in Oberstdorf.
Iversen won in 29:49.8, edging Norwegian teammate Sindre Bjoernestad Skar by 0.4 in a sprint. Italy's Francesco de Fabiani was 0.9 behind in third. Cologna was 3.7 behind.
Heavy rain and strong winds forced the cancellation of the fourth stage on Wednesday, and athletes raced on a modified course on Thursday.
The tour continues with the sixth stage at Val di Fiemme in Italy on Saturday.