Alexander Khoroshilov on Tuesday became Russia’s first World Cup winner in over 30 years with victory in the floodlit slalom in Schladming.
Khoroshilov, 30, led after the first leg and maintained his superiority to beat Italy’s Stefano Gross by 1.44sec with Felix Neureuther of Germany at 1.51 in third.
Aleksandr Zirov, competing for the then Soviet Union, was the last men’s alpine skiing World Cup winner when claiming the giant slalom in Laax, Switzerland, on March 28, 1981.
For Khoroshilov this was only his second time on the podium after Are in December.
Overall World Cup leader Marcel Hirscher started promisingly under falling snow on the Planai slope with fourth in the opening leg but the Austrian’s chances were dashed with a bad mistake at the fifth gate on the second run.
He eventually finished 14th.
Swede Mattias Hargin, who won in Kitzbuehel on Sunday, took eighth in this last race ahead of the World Championships in the United States starting on February 3.