KITZBUEHEL, Austria (AP) — Marcel Hirscher mastered a difficult course to post the fastest time in the opening run of a men’s World Cup slalom on Sunday.
In light snowfall, the three-time overall champion from Austria clocked 52.38 seconds to lead Alexander Khoroshilov of Russia by 0.19.
Mattias Hargin of Sweden was 0.42 behind in third, and Felix Neureuther of Germany had 0.51 to make up in the second run.
Neureuther, who won the race a year ago and also triumphed in Wengen, Switzerland, last week, leads the slalom standings with 420 points, 44 clear of Hirscher.
Hirscher is chasing his 16th career win in the discipline, which would place him in shared third with Luxembourg’s Marc Girardelli on the all-time winners’ list behind Sweden’s Ingemar Stenmark (40) and Italy’s Alberto Tomba (35).
Comment count on this article reflects comments made on Breitbart.com and Facebook. Visit Breitbart's Facebook Page.