Myhrer wins slalom, Hirscher stumbles

Sweden's Andre Myhrer won the men's alpine skiing World Cup slalom here on Sunday, while Austria's Marcel Hirscher fell, hurting his challenge for the discipline title and the overall standings. Notching up his third World Cup victory, Myhrer pipped Italian Cristian Deville, who was 00.49secs back. Frenchman Alexis Pinturault was third, 00.58secs behind, a day after also having made it to the podium in the giant slalom. All eyes had been on rising star Hirscher, ahead of next weekend's high-pressure, season-ending racing on home snow in in Schladming, Austria, as he snaps at the heels of overall leader, Switzerland's Beat Feuz. But Hirscher missed a gate in the first leg on Sunday, and with four races of the season remaining, he stands 55 points behind Feuz, who prefers the speed disciplines. His chances of claiming the slalom title have also grown slimmer, with Schladming hosting the discipline's last race of the season. Myhrer's victory in Kranjska Gora kept him in reach of topping the slalom rankings, notably because the discipline's leader Ivica Kostelic, who is back in action four weeks after undergoing knee surgery, only placed 16th on Sunday. Kostelic now has a 50-point lead on Hirscher, and 66 points on Myhrer. Just four points separate Hirscher and Myhrer, meanwhile.