Timon Haugan wins World Cup night slalom to give Norwegian ski team 2nd victory in 2 days

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Norway’s Timon Haugan celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

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Norway’s Timon Haugan celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

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Norway’s Timon Haugan celebrates on the podiumafter winning an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

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Norway’s Timon Haugan, center, winner of an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, celebrates with second-placed Austria’s Manuel Feller, left, and third-placed Austria’s Fabio Gstrein, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

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Switzerland’s Loic Meillard competes during an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

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Austria’s Manuel Feller competes during an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

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France’s Clement Noel competes during an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

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Germany’s Linus Strasser competes during an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

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Norway’s Timon Haugan competes during an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

SCHLADMING, Austria (AP) — Timon Haugan won a men’s World Cup night slalom on Wednesday to give the Norwegian ski team its second victory in two days.

Haugan beat Austrians Manuel Feller and Fabio Gstrein for his second win of the season, a day after teammate Alexander Steen Olsen had triumphed in a giant slalom on the same hill.

“This is crazy, this is the best one so far. Schladming is just different,” Haugan said.

It was the last men’s slalom before the Feb. 4-16 world championships in nearby Saalbach-Hinterglemm, where Haugan won last March when the resort hosted the World Cup finals.

“With the last win and the win in Saalbach last year it’s hard not to be one of the favorites,” Haugan said.

Watched by 22,500 spectators, Haugan improved from second position as first-run leader Linus Strasser, who won the annual night race last year, dropped to fourth.

The German carried a lead of more than three-tenths of a second into the final run, but lost parts of that advantage at every split time.

Strasser has not won since his back-to-back triumphs within four days in the classic slaloms of Kitzbuehel and Schladming last year.

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Six days before the country hosts the worlds, Feller and Gstrein earned the first podium results in slalom this season for the Austrian team.

Feller won the World Cup slalom title last year but has struggled to replicate the form and consistency that earned him the globe.

For Gstrein, it was the first top-three result of his World Cup career after finishing fifth several times, most recently at the classic slalom in Adelboden a few weeks ago.

Olympic champion Clement Noel, who led the discipline standings before the race after winning four events, including in Kitzbeuhel last Sunday, was 0.71 off the lead after the first run before skiing out in his second.

Since Noel failed to score points, Henrik Kristoffersen went top of the slalom season standings again, three points clear of the Frenchman. Kristoffersen finished 1.18 seconds behind his Norwegian teammate Haugan in eighth.

The men’s World Cup has one more race before the worlds: a downhill in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, on Sunday.

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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing