France's Jean-Baptiste Grange produced a blistering second slalom run Sunday to upset pre-race favorite Marcel Hirscher and claim his second career World Alpine Ski Championships title.
Grange stole the surprise victory from World Cup overall leader Hirscher, who failed to finish after missing a gate.
"In these big events like the Worlds and the Olympics, there is a lot of stress and you are not always feeling good," Grange said. "But you have to believe in yourself and today was my day."
Grange, the 2011 world slalom champion, clocked an aggregate time of one minute 57.47sec over the two runs to spoil Hirscher's bid for his second gold of the biennial championships.
Fritz Dopfer finished 0.35sec back for the silver while his German compatriot, World Cup slalom leader Felix Neureuther, took the bronze in 1:58.02.
Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen finished fourth while Swede Mattias Hargin rounded out the top five.
Reigning World Cup champion Hirscher, the final skier of the day, was on pace for the best time until the last third of his run, when he skied off course and handed the victory to Grange, who claimed the third world medal of his career.
Skiing first out of the gate in the morning session, Hirscher earned a 0.28sec lead over Russian Alexander Khoroshilov.
Grange snapped a string of aggregate slalom victories in major international competitions. Since 2002, the leader after the first run had always won the slalom at the World Championships and Olympic Games.
- Snow, course change hurt Hirscher -
A dramatic change in both the weather and the course didn't help Hirscher's chances as a snowstorm hit in the break between the first and second legs of the slalom. The heavy afternoon snowfall transformed the morning's icy, twisting piste into a snow-covered slope with limited visibility.
Organizers changed the layout for the second run by moving some of the gates to make the course straighter after 43 ski racers didn't finish the first run.
Grange said he and his French teammates often train alongside the Italians, so having the Italian coach set up the second run on Sunday helped him win.
"That double-double, we did that for one week," said Grange, who was fifth fastest after the first run. "I didn't like the first course. It was very turny. I prefer it when it is more straight and with rhythm just like the second run."
Grange, the son of two former French national team ski racers, also won a bronze at the 2007 worlds in Are, Sweden.
"It is a wonderful gift," Grange said. "The last four years I have had injuries and sometimes I lacked confidence. It is always easier to ski when you win.
"I didn't expect this, but it is a dream come true."
Dopfer injured his back in training last week but recovered in time to reach the first world championship podium. He was sixth after the first run but felt good about his chances in the afternoon.
"After the first run I was confident because I was skiing really good," Dopfer said. "I tried to push myself to my limit and I handled it. I am just thankful to stand on the podium."
It marked the second straight podium for Neureuther, who won silver at the 2013 worlds. Neureuther almost suffered the same fate as Hirscher but recovered from a mid-race bobble to claim the bronze.
"I never thought it would be enough to be on the podium," he said. "I had a mistake but I got lucky because Marcel made a bigger mistake and it got me to the podium."
Source: AFP