German skier Felix Neureuther rebounded from his Winter Olympics disapointment to win the World Cup slalom race in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, on Sunday for his seventh career win in the discipline and third of this campaign.
The 29-year-old — who failed to medal in the Olympics in Sochi last month after racing despite being involved in a car crash shortly before his competitions — timed faster over both the legs than compatriot Fritz Dopfer and the rising Norwegian star Henrik Kristoffersen.
“I have come back today, I am proud of myself, I managed to push myself to the limit to win here,” said Neureuther.
“I was in the form of my life, just at the right time (for the Olympics), and then there was this car accident.
“It was the most difficult moment of my life.”
Austria’s Olympic champion Mario Matt had led after the first leg but he failed to finish the seocnd leg after missing one of the last gates.
Neureuther, who finished eighth in the giant slalom at Sochi and then failed to finish the second leg in the slalom, leads Austrain Marcel Hirscher — who finished fifth on Sunday — in the race to the crystal globe for the slalom World Cup title.