YONG PYONG, South Korea, March 2 (UPI) -- Kalle Palander of Finland tightened the World Cup slalom standings Sunday with his third win of the season.
Palander used a solid first run to defeat Italy's Giorgio Rocca by just over half a second, winning with a combined time of 1 minute, 42.12 seconds.
A first run of 50.73 seconds put Palander on top and he was 15th-fastest down the course on his second run. Coupled with victories in January at Kitzbuhel and Schladming, the 26-year-old Finn climbed within 16 points of World Cup slalom leader Ivica Kostelic of Croatia.
The season concludes with events at Shiga Kogen, Japan and
Lillehammer, Norway.
"It will be an exciting sprint for the title between us," Palander predicted. "I'm ready to give what I can to get the Cup - it would mean so much for our team and our country. Alpine ski racing is big now in Finland and it will get even bigger, I hope."
Again bothered by a bad back, Kostelic came in 15th, his worst finish since 2001.
Austria's Benjamin Raich was third in 1:43.56. Countryman
Stephan Eberharter, the World Cup overall leader, did not participate in the slalom. His closest competitor, Bode Miller of the United States, placed sixth to trim Eberharter's advantage to 97 points.
Miller was third in Saturday's giant slalom but had trouble with a buckle on one of his boots after hitting a slalom pole during his second run Sunday.
