WENGEN, Switzer- Land — Manfred Pranger of Austria won a World Cup slalom race Sunday for his first victory in four years, while Bode Miler lost control and did not finish.
Miller, the defending overall champion, skied out in the second run of the slalom after finishing 23rd in the first. He stretched his season-long winless streak to 20 races.
Pranger led after the first run and finished the second in 52.26 seconds for a combined time of 1 minute, 40.36 seconds. Reinfried Herbst of Austria was second, 0.34 of a second behind, and Ivica Kostelic of Croatia was third.
Jean Baptiste-Grange of France, who finished sixth, kept his lead in the World Cup slalom standings. Benjamin Raich of Austria was fifth and kept his lead in the overall standings.
Pranger won his third World Cup. He had two in a three-day span in January 2005 before his career was derailed by a series of injuries.
“I definitely remember how it feels to win,” Pranger said. “This great feeling is what makes you want to come back.”
He said his teammate, Herbst, encouraged him during recovery from a serious knee injury in 2007. Herbst, the Olympic silver medalist in slalom, also has returned from knee injuries.
“You can’t be jealous of Manni’s victory,” Herbst said. “He works very hard for what he gets.”
