Razzoli wins slalom for 1st WCup victory

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) -- Giuliano Razzoli earned his first World Cup victory Wednesday by leading Italy to a 1-2 finish in a slalom.

The 25-year-old Razzoli was second after the opening run on the Crveni Spust course and finished in an aggregate time of 1 minute, 50 seconds to beat Manfred Moelgg by 0.23 seconds.

Julien Lizeroux of France was 0.49 seconds back in third. Reinfried Herbst of Austria held a big lead over Razzoli after the opening leg, but made a mistake early in his second run and finished 0.84 back in fifth.

"What a fantastic day," said Razzoli, whose third place last year here was his first career podium finish. "You can't describe this. The atmosphere is fantastic and the hill really suits me."

Italian ski great Alberto Tomba was among the first to congratulate Razzoli.

"That was a very special moment for me," Razzoli said. "I've always looked up to him and he has always been my hero."

Moelgg was relieved with his first podium finish since winning a slalom in Garmisch-Partenkirchen last season.

"I feel I am in good shape. My main focus is on the Olympic Games so it obviously is great that I found back to my best today," Moelgg said.

Herbst said he wasn't too disappointed about missing out on a third straight victory.

"In slalom, you always push it to the limits. Maybe I overdid it a bit in the second run," Herbst said. "That mistake doesn't really hurt me. If you finish fifth, you can't be dissatisfied."

Herbst won the two previous slalom races this season: in November at Levi, Finland, and last month in Alta Badia, Italy. He stays top of the discipline standings.

"It was difficult. The course is hard and bumpy but OK," Herbst said.

Benjamin Raich of Austria came 11th to regain the lead in the overall World Cup standings. Carlo Janka of Switzerland trails Raich by 12 points after skipping the race.

Raich had been off for the last eight days due to a back injury and only decided to compete just hours before the race.

"Physically, I had no problems," Raich said. "My runs weren't too bad but I made a mistake shortly before the finish that cost me a lot of time."

Slalom world champion Manfred Pranger of Austria straddled the final gate in his first run.

Ted Ligety also went out in the first run. The American crashed just before the finish but was unhurt. He attacked in the final part to make up for time he lost earlier in the race when he lost balance on one ski.

"I was skiing OK. It wasn't super clean," Ligety said. "The course preparation is good considering they had no snow and it's kind of warm here."

Croatia's Ivica Kostelic, who finished second here last year, misjudged a turn and missed a gate halfway down the course.

Bode Miller skipped the race to rest a sore ankle. The American is expected to return on Saturday to the World Cup circuit for a giant slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland.

Jimmy Cochran, the only American to qualify for the second run, finished 25th.