Sebastian Foss-Solevag wins Madonna di Campiglio in one of the most dramatic conclusions to a World Cup race

"So I tried just to ski calm. I really don't know. It happened so fast, I don't know how to explain that fall. But that's ski racing sometimes," Sebastian Foss-Solevag said about Clement Noel after the race. "I'm really sorry for him. He was skiing really well, he's been skiing great all season. But today I was skiing more stable."

World champion Sebastian Foss-Solevag won the Madonna di Campiglio slalom in one of the most dramatic conclusions to a World Cup race in recent memory.

The Norwegian, who took silver in the famous festive race last year, clocked a combined 1:34.59 to sit first with only Frenchman Clement Noel left to challenge.

Noel won the season-opening slalom and was poised to take the second, enjoying a 0.53 advantage heading into the second run and extending that to nearly a second in the closing turns.

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But the 24-year-old straddled the final gate and missed the control gate by the finish line, thus failing to finish and giving Foss-Solevag the victory.

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"It was a great race until two gates of the finish," said Noel.

"I really don't know how it's possible to fall (like) that. "On the steep part, I heard the speakers said I was super green so I just knew that I just had to ski normal at the end.

France's Clement Noel falls before the last gate of the second run of the men's FIS Ski World Cup Slalom event in Madonna di Campiglio, Dolomite Alps, on December 22, 2021

Image credit: Getty Images

Noel wasn't the only racer to find perils in their second run, with Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen and Britain's Dave Ryding failing to finish from promising positions.

Alexis Pinturault showed signs of form by taking the silver medal, with Sweden's Kristoffer Jakobsen earning his second gong of the season in bronze.

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