VAL D'ISERE, France, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Mario Matt won the men's World Cup slalom in France Sunday and tied a record for Austrian skiers.
Matt claimed his 14th career victory on the icy slope of Val d'Isere and tied the record for World Cup slalom wins by an Austrian, which was set by Benjamin Raich in 2008.
Matt turned in a combined two-run time Sunday of 1 minute, 44.59 seconds. Mattius Hargen of Sweden was second with a 1:45.12 and Patrick Thaler of Italy took third.
Matt said practicing in tough, icy conditions contributed to his win. "We had a great last training session in St. Anton before coming here," he said. "It was on a steep slope and it was a good chance to get ready for the conditions we found on the Face de Bellevarde."
David Chudounsky of the United States took seventh place with a 1:45.55, but teammates Ted Ligety and Bode Miller failed to qualify for the second run as did Austria's Marcel Hirscher, who holds second place in the men's World Cup point standings.
