Yule was 40/100 ahead of the Briton Dave Ryding, winner last year and author of a rise of 14 places on the second track, and the Norwegian Lucas Braathen of 41/100.

In the small cauldron of Ganslern, adjoining the mythical Streif of the Tyrol resort, the pressure rose crescendo in the second run of the slalom, fueled by the fans and the learned calls of the multilingual announcer "Didi".

Heated by a heartbeat relayed by the giant speakers, the locals awaited the final passage of their favorite Manuel Feller.

But the Austrian reggae man, best time in the first round, failed under pressure, after only a few gates, he who is still looking for his first success of the winter after three second places.

He thus allowed the Swiss Daniel Yule (29), huge on a second classic course traced by his coach, to triumph for the second time in his career in Kitzbühel after 2020, and to take his sixth victory in total, the second of winter.

"Kitzbühel and the Rest"

"It's unbelievable! In skiing, there's Kitzbühel and the rest. To win again is just unbelievable, it's a track that I really like. I was 30 hundredths from the podium (after the first run), so I thought that with a big run, the podium was playable", reacted the winner.

Frenchman Clément Noël, after the tenth round of the Kitzbühel slalom, January 22, 2023 © Joe Klamar / AFP

In the specialty classification, the suspense remains with Braathen in the lead, five points ahead of his compatriot Henrik Kristoffersen, 5th Sunday, and 36 points ahead of Yule.

Despite clear weather for the first time this week, Clément Noël remained in the fog in the heart of this crucial month of January for slalomers.

After a good 3rd place at Garmisch (Germany), he has just had a trip to Adelboden (Switzerland), a 6th place at Wengen (Switzerland) last week then an 8th place on Sunday which does not satisfy him.

"I thought the feeling was not bad, I didn't feel like I was that bad. I think I skied a bit with the handbrake on without wanting to, with the fear of making mistakes, of going out. That can happen when you go out often. I think I can do better in terms of skiing, so I'm disappointed with the result. I think I can easily get the podium", he regretted.

"Eighth, it gives a little confidence, but it also has to be used to move up a gear. Otherwise I'll settle for that, and rejoice later in a Top 5. I don't want to that. I immediately want to go higher, "said the Olympic champion, who has not won in the World Cup since December 2021.

The 25-year-old from Vosges has the opportunity to correct the situation on Tuesday in the madness of the Schladming night slalom, two hours away.

Two weeks before the Courchevel / Méribel Worlds (February 6-19), Alexis Pinturault experienced another big disappointment with his elimination in the first round (34th) without a major fault.

"I knew that my equipment was not working exactly as I wanted, but not being able to take the qualification when I'm not making a mistake is hard," he lamented.

The world No.1 in 2021 does two days of slalom and giant in Schladming, which recovered a race canceled in Germany due to lack of snow.

© 2023 AFP