Alpine Skiing - FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - Men's Giant Slalom - Soelden, Austria - October 27, 2024 Norway's Alexander Steen Olsen celebrates after winning the men's giant slalom along with second placed Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen, third placed Norway's Atle Lie McGrath and team REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
SOELDEN, Austria (Reuters) -Alexander Steen Olsen claimed victory in the men's first World Cup race of the season, leading a Norwegian podium sweep in the Giant Slalom in the Austrian Alps on Sunday.
Olsen’s lead after the first run proved sufficient to hold off the competition, as no one managed to close the overall gap on the deteriorating course in the second run, finishing in a total time of two minutes, 09.50 seconds
Compatriot Henrik Kristoffersen was 0.65 seconds behind and Atle Lie McGrath completed the Norwegian triumph just one hundredth of a second behind Kristoffersen in third.
Former Norwegian racer Lucas Braathen, who initially retired from the sport before making a comeback to compete for Brazil, was narrowly denied a podium finish, ending in fourth place.
Another notable comeback came from Marcel Hirscher, now racing for the Netherlands, though it was not his best day as he finished 23rd.
The twice Olympic champion, who retired in 2019 as one of Austria's most successful skiers after winning a record eight consecutive overall World Cup titles from 2012 to 2019 finished over two seconds behind Steen Olsen.
The season's first women's race, a Giant Slalom on Saturday, was won by Italian Federica Brignone. New Zealander Alice Robinson finished second place and Julia Scheib of Austria was third.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Ed Osmond)
