Atle Lie McGrath, a skier representing Norway, emerged victorious over Olympic champion Clement Noel in a World Cup slalom event held in Alta Badia, Italy. Despite Noel leading after the initial run, McGrath managed to outperform him in the second run, finishing 0.30 seconds ahead with a total time of one minute 44.50 seconds. McGrath’s impressive performance placed him ahead of third-placed Loic Meillard, the reigning world champion, by 39-100ths of a second. McGrath expressed his elation at the win, especially after missing out on a victory in a previous slalom event in Gurgl, Austria.
McGrath’s father, Felix, competed in the 1988 Calgary Olympics for the U.S. in slalom and giant slalom events. Looking ahead, Noel expressed optimism about his skiing, anticipating further improvements in January and looking forward to enjoying quality time with his family over the holiday season. The competition also saw Calgary’s Erik Read as the sole Canadian participant, who unfortunately did not finish the opening run.
In the ongoing season, Timon Haugan maintained his lead in the World Cup slalom standings despite finishing fourth in the event, trailing McGrath by 0.53 seconds. Haugan also climbed to the second spot in the overall World Cup standings, following the current champion Marco Odermatt. The upcoming men’s World Cup race is set to take place in Italy for a super-G event at Livigno, near the location where the men’s alpine races for the Olympics will be hosted in Bormio.
McGrath, primarily a slalom specialist, plans to engage in some cross-country skiing before the next World Cup event. The upcoming schedule includes a slalom race on January 7 at Madonna di Campiglio in Italy.