Winter Olympics 2022 - Johannes Strolz holds narrow slalom lead over Norwegian duo as Dave Ryding hopes fade

Johannes Strolz holds a slender advantage in the slalom as the Austrian goes for a second gold at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. The 29-year-old followed in his father's footsteps when winning the combined event last week, and he posted a Run 1 time of 53.92 to finish just 0.02 seconds ahead of Henrik Kristoffersen.

Ad/> Just 0.06 seconds separate the top three with world champion Sebastian Foss-Solevag in third, while Team GB’s Dave Ryding showed potential early on before falling almost certainly out of contention when finishing 1.21 seconds off the pace. Kitzbühel‘I never stopped believing or trying’ – Ryding after making history in Kitzbuhel22/01/2022 AT 15:55 Ramon Zenhausern was out first, but the 29-year-old was “labouring” according to Nick Fellows on Eurosport’s commentary, with the Swiss rider – who won silver in Pyeongchang four years ago but has endured a disappointing season so far due to injury problems – unlikely to trouble with a time of 54.72.

Then it was the turn of Norway’s Foss-Solevag, last year’s slalom world champion, and he made a statement with a 53.98. That lead was short-lived however, with Foss-Solevag’s compatriot Kristoffersen going 0.04 seconds quicker to take his place in the leader’s enclosure.

Ryding a second off the slalom pace after costly mistakes in first run ‘I feel pretty good’ — Shiffrin adds team event to Olympic schedule after ‘tricky’ downhill Strolz emulates father's feat by winning Alpine combined gold The biggest early casualty was Austria’s Manuel Feller – third in the World Cup slalom standings – as he posted the first DNF of Run 1, while Kristoffer Jakobsen’s day was also over moments later. Loic Meillard moved into third and just 0.28 seconds off the pace, and then it