Nothing to get

Men’s slalom in Levi from 10 a.m. LIVE

Clement Noel (r.) won the slalom in Levi, Adrian Pertl was the best Austrian in 15th place.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Nothing to gain for Austria's technicians in the slalom in Levi! Adrian Pertl was the best ÖSV skier in 15th place on Sunday, while Clement Noel was able to celebrate, the Frenchman triumphing ahead of Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen (+0.80) and Switzerland's Loic Meillard (+0.95).

Clement Noel has won the first World Cup slalom of the season in Levi in superior style. The French Olympic champion extended his half-time lead on Sunday and won 0.80 seconds ahead of Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen, who unleashed in the second run. The ÖSV team flopped ahead of the upcoming home race in Gurgl. Adrian Pertl was the 15th best Austrian in the worst slalom result since Madonna in December 2021. Manuel Feller fell in the second run.

Henrik Kristoffersen, Clement Noel and Loic Meillard (from left to right)

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Many skiers had material problems at low speed on the icy piste in the first run. Marcel Hirscher even felt like a "passenger" and missed the second run. "It was a fight for survival and actually almost enough to make me sick," said the three-time Levi winner after 46th place and promptly put a question mark over his participation in the upcoming Gurgl slalom.

The final result:

Things didn't go according to plan for his former teammates in the morning either. Feller was the best in 15th place, 1.18 seconds behind Noel. "You're almost standing, it's extremely slow." ÖSV coach Martin Kroisleitner put in a smoother second run, but the big red-white-red race to catch up failed to materialize.

Feller made a few mistakes in the start section, hasarded in the steep slope and got caught up. "It was generally very difficult for me today. I just couldn't get a good turn together today," said Feller after his first failure since Kitzbühel 2023. He had never finished lower than fifth in this discipline in the entire previous season.

Kristoffersen, on the other hand, seemed to hit every turn. With a superior best time, the half-time 11th took the lead and initially only had to tremble in the Braathen run that followed immediately after. Skier after skier finished behind Kristoffersen. Meillard, who surprised everyone with third place ahead of returnee Lucas Braathen after recovering from a disc problem, also bared his teeth. Noel, however, didn't let anything get in his way on this day, even as the half-time leader. That had always been different recently.

Pertl scored good points in the first race after the brand change. Dominik Raschner followed immediately behind the Carinthian in 16th place, while Joshua Sturm achieved his best career result in 21st. Johannes Strolz did not make it into the second run (37th), Christian Hirschbühl was disqualified in 22nd place after his comeback after a break of more than 1,000 days due to a single thread. Fabio Gstrein was eliminated in the first run.