LEVI, Finland (AP) — Marcel Hirscher built a narrow lead in the first run of the season-opening men's World Cup slalom on Sunday.
The seven-time overall champion edged Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen by 0.07 seconds as the pair finished more than 0.3 ahead of the field.
Hirscher and Kristoffersen were 1-2 in the discipline standings for each of the past three seasons.
Clement Noel of France was 0.38 behind in third, while Olympic slalom champion Andre Myhrer of Sweden had more than a second to make up in the final run.
Last year's winner, Felix Neureuther of Germany, skipped the race after breaking his right Hirscher leads Kristoffersen in 1st run of World Cup slalom in training Friday.
The race is the first of the men's season after a giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, was called off due to bad weather in October.
Disclaimer: This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Associated Press (AP) wire.
