ZAGREB, Croatia — Two-time slalom world champion Mario Matt has another accomplishment to add to his resume.
The Austrian won the inaugural men’s World Cup slalom in Zagreb on Sunday, putting a damper on the homecoming of Ivica Kostelic, who learned to ski on the hill outside the Croatian capital that was used for the event.
Kostelic was only 0.03 seconds behind Matt after the first run and had his sister Janica and the rest of the family among the 20,000 spectators.
Kostelic took the lead after his second run even though he made a few mistakes on the long, icy course.
“When I crossed the line and I saw that I was ahead at the time, it was like a shot in the arm,” Kostelic said.
Matt responded to the challenge, navigating the 69 gates without a major error to finish with an aggregate time of 1 minute, 51.36 seconds. It was the Austrian’s third win of the season and 11th of his career.
“I heard that Ivica had a good run and everyone was jumping up and down, it was difficult to focus on my run,” Matt said. “But I stayed calm and I was able to push myself.”
Kostelic finished 0.33 of a second back, and Reinfried Herbst of Austria, who won a week ago, was third in 1:51.76.
American Bode Miller, the overall Cup leader, nearly crashed out in the first run and failed to qualify for the second.
