Marcel Hirscher added another World Cup slalom win to his tally, win number 64, after first run leader Marco Schwarz succumbed to the pressure of leading after the first run. Alexis Pinturault took second with Manuel Feller taking third place in the Zagreb World Cup Slalom.
The Zagreb slalom is a unique race. Taking place on a hill so near the town centre that the racers go up in vans in start number order from the hotel that houses all the racers. Set up to give the Croatian fans a home race to support both Janica and Ivica Kostelic in the heyday, the race is now a firm fixture on the World Cup and a great race for fans to attend.
Marco Schwarz took the lead after the first run, carrying on the great form that saw him win his first World Cup race with victory in the Oslo City Event on New Years Day. A 0.37 advantage over Hirscher with Feller in third gave the Austrians a shut out of the podium places after the first run.
Between Hirscher in second place on the first run and Daniel Yule in eighth, just half a second separated these seven racers.
There is nothing more impressive than seeing Hirscher however, in full flight when he becomes the hunter rather than being the hunted. Hirscher posted the fastest second run time after Stefano Gross, until recently a top seven racer but now starting outside the top 15, had posted a fast time from going second down the course. Gross posted the second fastest time that would eventually see him move up to tenth place.
Alexis Pinturault has come into form again this season and he posted the third fastest time that saw him move up to be in the lead with Hirscher and Schwarz to go. Pinturault had been in fifth after the first run but the injection of speed on the second run saw him take second place in the end.
After a disaster of a first run, Britain's Dave Ryding pulled back up to 11th place to maintain his run of form and retain his place in the top fifteen starters for World Cup Slalom races. Ryding had hoped to make the top ten but after the first run, where he finished 23rd, 11th was a salvage mission, he admitted after the race. Read his full thoughts on the race here.