Olympic champion Clement Noel wins 2nd World Cup slalom in 2 weeks

Olympic champion Clement Noel held on to his commanding first-run lead to take a men's World Cup slalom Sunday in Gurgl, Austria, for his second win in two weeks and 12th overall.

The Frenchman lost time in the final run but still finished 0.43 seconds ahead of Kristoffer Jakobsen, denying the Swedish skier what would have been his first World Cup win.

Atle Lie McGrath of Norway, who was second after the opening run, dropped to third, 0.44 behind.

Noel also won the season-opening slalom in Finland a week ago for his first World Cup victory in 22 months.

"It's for sure really, really important," Noel said when asked in a course-side TV interview about starting the season with back-to-back wins.

"We all want to be fast, we all want to win some races, but I know there is some really tough competition. So, I'm more than happy to win today."

WATCH | Noel wins slalom for 2nd week running:

France's Clement wins his 2nd World Cup slalom of the season

Noel's French teammate Steven Amiez placed fourth for his career-best result, with his father, 1996 slalom World Cup winner Sebastien Amiez, watching from the finish area.

World champion Henrik Kristoffersen, who was runner-up to Noel last week, improved from 13th position to finish sixth.

Canada's Erik Read (56.41) did not qualify for a second run and finished 45th overall.

Watched by 9,800 spectators, Noel positioned himself for the win with a dominating opening run.

The Frenchman raced flawlessly down the Kirchenkar course to build a big lead of more than eight-tenths as many racers struggled on the icy steep, with McGrath and Amiez the only racers to finish less than a second off the lead.

"It was difficult for me as well. The feeling was tough, the snow is very icy," said