Alpine skiing-Pinheiro Braathen wins Levi slalom ahead of Noel

LEVI, Finland, Nov 15 : Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won the men's World Cup slalom in Levi, Finland, on Sunday for his second victory in as many races this season.

France's Clement Noel finished runner-up to Pinheiro Braathen, 0.56 seconds behind. Switzerland's Loic Meillard was third, 0.73 seconds off the pace.

Starting seventh on the Levi Black course, Pinheiro Braathen led Noel by 0.65 seconds after the first run. The Brazilian skied a clean second run, giving up just nine hundredths of a second to the Frenchman.

The former Norwegian racer, in his third winter competing for Brazil, has 10 World Cup victories, five of them in slalom, copying his win from last season in Levi.

Pinheiro Braathen, the Olympic giant slalom champion, also beat Meillard in last month's season opener in Soelden, Austria.

"It’s rather emotional looking back one year ago in this very place where we won the first Brazilian World Cup victory in ski racing," Pinheiro Braathen said.

"I'm just trying to make myself my biggest competitor and focus on the tasks at hand, the things that I’m working on in training," he added.

"It is when I'm able to feel that I am having a lot of fun when I'm skiing, that I know that I'm letting go. And that's what it felt like today. Just a lot of fun."

Noel will have another chance to beat Pinheiro Braathen in next Sunday's World Cup slalom in Gurgl, Austria.

"The hill is different and we all know that there's going to be a lot of contenders," Noel said. "I will just try to focus on myself, ski fast and bring the confidence from Levi to Gurgl."

Germany's Emma Aicher claimed the first women's World Cup slalom of the season on Saturday at the same venue.