Italy’s Stefano Gross Wins World Cup Slalom, Hirscher 3rd

ADELBODEN, Switzerland (AP) — Stefano Gross of Italy won a tight World Cup slalom on Sunday where just 0.03 seconds separated the top three finishers.

A first career World Cup victory for Gross denied Fritz Dopfer of Germany his first win by just 0.02. Gross had a combined two-run time of 1 minute, 56.70 seconds.

Overall World Cup leader Marcel Hirscher of Austria was a further 0.01 back in third.

Hirscher now tops the season-long slalom standings after previous leader Felix Neureuther of Germany failed to finish the first run.

First-run leader Dopfer let a half-second lead slip on the steep final slope and had to settle for his fifth career runner-up finish in a World Cup race.

(Story by: Graham Dunbar, Sports Writer, The Associated Press)