Flachau (Austria) (AFP)

The Austrian Manuel Feller won the first victory of his career on Saturday in the slalom at Flachau (Austria) ahead of the French Clément Noël (at 43 / 100th) and his compatriot Marco Schwarz (at 70 / 100th).

Large flakes swirl and fall so slowly over Flachau station that they give the impression of being inside a snow globe shaken by a fascinated child.

The Austrian Manuel Feller had also alienated part of the country, crazy about alpine skiing, this week qualifying the Hermann Maier slope (the legendary skier grew up here) as a "kindergarten" (" Märchenwiese ", literally fairy-tale lawn), not steep enough and too easy for him.

This electric and once irregular skier made up for it by assuming the pressure with the first victory of his career, at age 28, after six podiums, including five in slaloms.

"I did not want to miss me again (...) it is a day that I will never forget", rejoiced the Austrian.

He took the opportunity to take the lead in the specialty standings for one point ahead of his compatriot Marco Schwarz, 3rd for his 4th podium of the winter.

The Austrians are in good shape in the discipline, where they placed eight skiers (out of 30) in the second round on Saturday.

- "I had to reassure myself" -

Feller is the fifth different winner in five World Cup slaloms.

Frenchman Clément Noël, three successes last winter, would like to be next from Sunday, still in Flachau, which has recovered the slaloms of Wengen and Kitzbühel, where many cases of Covid-19 have been detected in recent days.

Noël finally showed his true level over a whole race and started his winter with a first podium (5th at best so far) and broke his poor run of second heats.

Best time on the first track for the 3rd time in three races in 2021 (after Zagreb, 7th final, and Adelboden, 8th final), this time he secured a good second lap (9th time) to fail behind only Feller, devilish in 2nd round.

"It feels good to be on the podium. Until then, after all my races I was frustrated and unhappy with my performance, it was heavy not to be satisfied with yourself, explained Noël in the mixed zone. I did two good runs, not a lot of faults, clean skiing, I think I can go a little faster. I had to be reassured. It allows me to look to the future more calmly. "

His compatriot Alexis Pinturault made a good comeback in the 2nd round (11 places gained thanks to the 4th fastest time) to take 9th place in the final just a few kilometers from "home" in Altenmarkt, where he spends his winters.

"The track was not that simple, very icy, even glossy. My second run is pretty good, on the first I was too nice. With these conditions if you are not on the attack it quickly makes the difference, he said in a mixed zone. I hope to use today to build for tomorrow ".

The 29 points gained allow him to increase his lead in the general classification, which experienced a major upheaval in the evening.

About twenty kilometers from Flachau, in Hinterreit, the Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde ruptured the cruciate ligament in his right knee during a training session in super-G when he was 2nd in the standings 158 points from the French.

His winter ended mid-season opens the door to the big globe for Pinturault whose closest challenger, the Swiss Marco Odermatt, is at 217 points.

The Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen, 6th overall, is entangled in an average season, with a new disappointment on Saturday (18th).

© 2021 AFP