Palander takes advantage

ByEurosport

Published 17/12/2006 at 11:40 GMT

Kalle Palander put himself in a great position to take victory in the giant slalom at Alta Badia in Italy. The Finn's time of 1:13.97 put him three tenths of a second ahead of Davide Simoncelli, with Hermann Maier nearly a second further back.

ALPINE SKIING 2006-2007 Beaver Creek, CO Kalle Palander

Image credit: dpa

The 29-year-old Palander took full advantage of his early start position amid deteriorating visibility, as the top five positions were all filled by skiers with bibs numbered between one and six.

World Cup points leader Aksel Lund Svindal and defending champion Benjamin Raich came in fourth and fifth, but - like Maier - both men will have to make up over a second oin Palander in the second run.

A costly error denied Bode Miller victory in Saturday's downhill, and he was ragged again, coming in seventh, 1.7 seconds behind Palander.

Alta Badia