Noel wins first slalom in year
Clement Noel got his first World Cup win in a year on Saturday, triumphing in the penultimate slalom before the world championships.
The French skier won three slaloms in each of the last two seasons but had been waiting for another victory since prevailing in Chamonix in February.
Returning to the same course Saturday, Noel improved from third position after the opening leg as the top two lost time in similar mistakes halfway through their final runs.
On a course softened by persistent rain, first-run leader Marco Schwarz dropped to third, 0.19 seconds behind Noel, while Ramon Zenhausern remained in second and trailed by 0.16.
Schwarz had been fastest in a tight opening run, leading Zenhausern by 0.02 and Noel by 0.03.
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France's Clement Noel competes during the first run of the slalom event of the FIS Men's Alpine Ski World Cup in Chamonix, France, on Saturday. Noel rallied from third on his first run to win.
Saturday with his 11th win in 12 races this season. He teamed with Alexander Schuller for an easy victory, beating the Latvian sled of Oskars Kibermanis and Matiss Miknis by nearly three-quarters of a second. Russia’s Rostislav Gaitiukevich and Mikhail Mordasov came in third in 1:43.90.