Manny Feller Takes First Flachau Sl, Voss Solevaag Wins Second

It took 86 World Cup starts, but in the end, he finally got his first victory. Norwegian Sebastian Voss Solevaag dominated the field in today’s Audi FIS World Cup slalom in Flachau (AUT) to claim his first career win.

Voss Solevaag made his World Cup debut in Levi in 2012 and until today had four podiums to his credit the victory always managing to elude the 29 year-old. But today the stars aligned perfectly for the veteran as he earned a clear 0.76 victory over Austrian Marco Schwarz.

Schwarz is on a roll of his own, having earned a podium in each of the last three races, including today’s second place finish. Alexis Pinturault brought home his first top-three finish in the slalom of the season 0.95 off the winning pace.

Voss Solevaag skied nearly flawlessly in both runs, turning in the fastest times both times down the hill. After the first run, he sat atop the standings with a trio of Austrians right on his heels. But only Schwarz managed to capitalize on his strong first run position – the others, Manuel Feller and Fabio Gstrein had no chance to make the top ten in the second run.

Austria’s loss was Switzerland’s gain as Loic Meillard and Luca Aerni finished fourth and sixth, respectively. Although the season is only half over, the two nations already find themselves going head-to-head for the Nations Cup, with the Swiss holding a 604-point lead currently.

IN the first race Austrian Manuel Feller’s persistence finally paid off. Today in Flachau, he earned his first career Audi FIS World Cup victory.

Feller sat in third place 0.25 seconds off the pace after the first run as once again Clement Noel was the top racer in the first run. But after laying down the fastest time in the second run, Feller jumped into first place and held on for the victory.

For Noel, today’s second-place finish was the first podium for the Frenchman this season, but it was still a frustration as he continued to be strong in the first runs, but loses ranking places in the second run.

Taking third place was Adelboden-winner Marco Schwarz. Feller’s teammate was the slalom season leader heading into today’s race, but ultimately surrendered the red bib to Feller. It was the 12th career podium for the Austrian.

Feller was always close to the victory this season, earning two, second-place finishes coming in Alta Badia and Zagreb. In total, it was his sixth career slalom podium for the 28 year-old today.