McGrath earns cathartic World Cup slalom win after Olympic pain / Photo: JURE MAKOVEC - AFP
McGrath earns cathartic World Cup slalom win after Olympic pain
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath won his third World Cup slalom of the season at Kranjska Gora on Sunday, edging out compatriot Henrik Kristoffersen by the finest of margins.
McGrath, who suffered Olympic heartbreak last month when he clattered into a gate with gold in sight, produced the fastest first run in Slovenia and narrowly held on for victory.
He beat Kristoffersen by one hundredth of a second with Lucas Pinheiro Braathen a close third, 0.04sec back, a day after the Brazilian won the giant slalom to back up his Olympic title.
The US-born McGrath dedicated the win to his grandfather, who died at the age of 83 after a battle with dementia on the eve of the Winter Games.
"To bounce back like this after the Olympics, I think he has something to do with it, he was looking over me today," said McGrath, who hurled his ski poles in disgust and trudged into the woods in Bormio after his Olympic dreams fizzled in the slalom.
The 25-year-old opened up a 41-point lead over childhood friend Braathen in the slalom standings, with one more race to come at Hafjell, Norway, on March 25 at the World Cup finals.
"There's no better place I could fight for the globe. Me and Lucas, we grew up skiing together in Hafjell, so it has a lot of special memories and it's going to be a pretty cool fight till the end," said McGrath.
"To pull it out today... I was so nervous before the second run. I thought way too much about the overall standings, but that hundredth (of a second) was on my side and I'm so happy with it."
Frenchman Clement Noel is still in the running for the slalom globe but trails McGrath by 77 points, while two-time Olympic bronze medallist Kristoffersen is 99 adrift.
F.Gonzalez--BT
