First Run Results-Men's SL

[Ski]

Mario Matt of Austria holds a big lead after the first run of the men's slalom at the World Championships in Are.

 

The 2001 champion is 1.14 seconds clear of the field after an incident packed opening run that saw a host of big names crash out on a tough course.

 

Matt was third down in a time of 59.22 and is followed by Germany's Felix Neureuther and Manfred Pranger of Austria.

 

Olympic and defending world slalom champion Benjamin Raich is fourth, 1.23 seconds behind his compatriot, with the racers in second to 11th position seperated by less than seven tenths.

 

There was disappointment for the home fans as Jens Byggmark, who leads the World Cup slalom standings, and Markus Larsson, who won the World Cup dress rehearsal here last year, both crashed out.

 

Aksel-Lund Svindal's bid for a third world title ended as his skis got stuck in the grippy snow while Bode Miller's dreams of a first medal in Sweden were curtailed as he skied out along with US compatriot and Olympic combined champion Ted Ligety.

 

The Swiss young guns also missed out with Daniel Albrecht, who has won a gold and a silver in Are, and Marc Berthod, bronze medalist in the super-combined, also failing to complete the course.

 

Defending World Cup slalom champion Giorgio Rocca of Italy and Olympic slalom silver medalist Reinfried Herbst added to the list of big-name casualties.