Winter Olympics 2022 – Clement Noel wins slalom gold after 'sensational' second run, Dave Ryding finishes 13th

ByMichael Hincks

Updated 16/02/2022 at 09:07 GMT

Clement Noel won the World Cup season-opener in Val d’Isere, and now he is the Olympic slalom champion after producing a scintillating second run. The Frenchman was sixth heading into Run 2, but a combined time of 1:44.09 could not be beaten as Johannes Strolz took silver and world champion Sebastien Foss-Solevaag the bronze.

France’s Clement Noel put down a stunning second run to win slalom gold at the Winter Olympics ahead of Johannes Strolz and world champion Sebastien Foss-Solevaag.

Noel was sixth heading into Run 2, but an incredible 49.79 made for an unassailable time of 1:44.09 – 0.61 seconds quicker than Austria’s Strolz, who had led after the first run.

It is a first alpine skiing gold for France at these Games, while Strolz’s silver is his second medal of Beijing 2022 after winning gold in the combined.

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Meanwhile, Team GB’s Dave Ryding finished down in 13th, a month after his World Cup heroics.

The slalom was deemed a wide-open race at Beijing 2022 given the six World Cup events so far this season have produced six different winners.

Strolz, who won in Adelboden but has also recorded four World Cup DNFs, set the pace in the first run and sat narrowly ahead of Norwegian duo Foss-Solevag and Kristoffersen.

‘I had tears! – Noel on ‘stressful’ Olympic gold medal triumph

• 'Heart-breaking for British fans' - Ryding's race of two halves leaves slalom hopes in balance
• Strolz holds narrow slalom lead over Norwegian duo as Ryding hopes fade
• Ryding a second off the slalom pace after costly mistakes in first run

With the top 30 going down in reverse order, the riders before them looked to pile the pressure on in the hope of making the podium.

Last season’s slalom champion Marco Schwarz, who started Run 2 in 24th, put in a much-improved second run of 50.35 to lay down the target time of 1:46.61.

He was knocked off his perch soon after, while it was Ryding who led at the halfway stage when posting a combined time of 1:45.57.

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Ryding’s hopes of climbing up the standings were boosted as Alexis Pinturault and Atle Lie McGrath finished behind the Briton despite going after.

Daniel Yule went 0.62 seconds quicker overall to displace Ryding, and with 12 athletes to go the chances of a medal for the Briton were slim, although a top-10 finish was looking possible.

The time to beat for the final 10 remained Yule’s, and the Swiss – joint-fourth in World Cup slalom standings – watched on nervously as the next four riders were unable to topple him.

However, Noel – who won the World Cup season opener in Val d’Isere and finished second overall in 2019, 2020 and 2021 – roared in the finish area when ousting Yule, his 1:44.09 an impressive 0.86 clear at the top as the top five waited to go down.

Linus Strasser was unable to beat him, slotting into third, but he was out of the medal positions when Loic Meillard went second, 0.80 seconds behind Noel.

Meillard’s time outlined how strong Noel’s run was, and there were just three skiers left to try and beat the 24-year-old.

‘Breaking down with emotion!’ – French coaches in tears after Noel gold

World champion Foss-Solevag was unable to, 0.70 seconds behind Noel, who was now guaranteed a medal – what colour exactly depended on Kristoffersen and Strolz.

Kristoffersen held a 0.76-second lead at the second split, but mistakes saw him drop into bronze-medal position.

Last out was Strolz, and though he was in the green, he could not stay ahead – Noel’s speed in the latter stages evidently incredible as the Frenchman stayed top and the Austrian went into second.

"It is claimed by the sensational French skier, a brilliant second run charge. From sixth to gold!" Nick Fellows said on Eurosport's commentary. "This fella has pulled if off with a magical performance."

Earlier in the day, Norway’s Lucas Braathen, who leads the World Cup slalom standings this season, was the biggest DNF casualty in Run 1.

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