Sawt Falasteen - Noel stays cool to take Schladming slalom

The annual 'Nightrace' draws a crowd of some 45,000 to the Planai, a natural arena in the Styrian Alps.

On a misty evening, Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen led after the first run, 0.21sec ahead of local favourite Manuel Feller.

Noel, the reigning Olympic champion, was seventh 0.77 seconds off the lead but declared: "I felt pretty good. It bothers me a bit not to be fast when I feel good. I will watch the video. There are certainly things that I did not do well and I will try to correct them."

In the second run, with the slowest finishers from the first run going first, the times deteriorated with the snow.

Noel was only eighth fastest but it was enough to leap into top spot. The time held up, by a tiny margin, as the skiers who followed struggled to maintain their line and rhythm on an icy surface.

Noel finished in a combined time of 1min 48.97sec, a slim 0.07sec ahead of Swiss Ramon Zenhaeusern. Norwegian Lucas Braathen was third at 0.38.

Feller dropped off the podium to fourth.

The tenth World Cup victory of Noel's career comes as the 25-year-old prepares for the world championships on home snow in Courchevel and Meribel from February 6-19.

O.Salim--SF-PST