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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Henrik Kristoffersen leads Norway 1-2 in World Cup slalom 1st run

First placed Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen celebrates at the end of an alpine ski, men's World Cup Slalom in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017. (Alessandro Trovati / Associated Press)
By Graham Dunbar Associated Press

WENGEN, Switzerland – Henrik Kristoffersen extended his hot streak in World Cup slalom by leading a 1-2 for Norway in the first run on Sunday.

While Kristoffersen’s fast time was expected, seeking a fourth win in five races, a second place for teammate Leif Kristian Haugen was not.

Haugen was 0.23 seconds behind Olympic bronze medalist Kristoffersen despite wearing the low-ranked No. 30 bib.

The University of Denver graduate has a career-best slalom result of eighth place in eight World Cup seasons.

Alexander Khoroshilov of Russia was third, with 0.44 to make up in the afternoon run on an icy course.

Marcel Hirscher of Austria was fourth, trailing 0.56 behind Kristoffersen on a course. They share the lead in the World Cup slalom standings.

Hirscher has a clear lead in the overall standings as the five-time defending champion, though has never won at Wengen.

After two slalom races affected by the weather in January, the conditions offered a fair test Sunday.

Only light snow dusted the hill adjoining the course for the classic downhill that was canceled Saturday due to heavy overnight snow.

After Kristoffersen’s dominating win by 1.83 seconds in the fog at nearby Adelboden last Sunday, 14 racers were within a second of the defending World Cup slalom champion in the first run.

They included eighth-placed David Chodounsky of the United States, who trailed the leader by 0.61.