Austrian skier Leitinger takes surprise lead in WCup opener

Published October 24, 2021 5:31 AM

By ERIC WILLEMSEN
Associated Press

SÖLDEN, Austria (AP) — Austrian skier Roland Leitinger surprised the pre-race favorites by posting the fastest time in the first run of the season-opening men’s World Cup giant slalom. Leitinger started 19th and had a clean run to lead world champion Matthieu Faivre of France by 0.19 of a second. Swiss skier Marco Odermatt was two hundredths further back in third. Defending overall and GS World Cup champion Alexis Pinturault had 0.57 to make up in the second leg. American racer River Radamus impressed with an acrobatic recovery during his run before posting the ninth-fastest time. Leitinger said “I found the right balance between aggression and control.”

Article Topic Follows: AP National Sports

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