Austria's Matt wins World Cup slalom

Mario Matt of Austria won his second straight World Cup slalom race Sunday and Nolan Kasper of the U.S. had the fastest second run to finish in a tie for second, a career-best showing.

Matt was fifth after the opening run and finished the Podkoren course in a combined time of 1 minute, 49.19 seconds for his 12th career victory. The Austrian also won in Bansko, Bulgaria, last week.

"I had the self-belief to fully attack. My material is perfect, that makes ski racing a pleasure for me," Matt said.

Kasper and Axel Baeck of Sweden both finished on the podium for the first time, sharing second place, 0.09 behind Matt.

Kasper is the first American to reach a men's World Cup slalom podium since Bode Miller in November 2008 in Levi, Finland.

"I had two really good runs," said Kasper. "(Matt) is one of the best guys in the world ... so I am not disappointed at all. It's more than I could hope for that I can compete at this level with these guys."

Two months ago, Kasper was struggling with confidence as he had failed to finish a race until then. He was relegated to the lower-ranked Europa Cup circuit, where good results kickstarted his season.

"I think it's a mental aspect," he said. "I had been doing well in training, but struggling in the races. So I took some time off ... and finally found the right gear in the races."

Kasper has now qualified for the season-ending slalom, where only the top 25 racers take part.

"My hope today was to ski well enough to make it to the World Cup final," he said. "Obviously I am skiing well and I don't want the season to end right now. To come out and ski that fast is a lot of fun."

Confidence and equipment problems also plagued the 31-year-old Matt, with the two-time world champion becoming so frustrated that he even considered quitting ski racing.

"It was in my mind as nothing worked in December," Matt said. "I had high (start) numbers in the Europa Cup, numbers over 50. Of course I was thinking about (quitting) but I was still fast in training. So I thought, I can still do it with the right setup."

Matt got new ski boots by the end of December. Since then, the tide has turned.

"In Adelboden and Wengen, I had the fastest second runs so I made some good points there," he said. "Being at the start and knowing that everything is OK, that's just a great feeling."

Discipline title favorites Ivica Kostelic and Jean-Baptiste Grange both failed to score points after being disqualified for straddling a gate, meaning the slalom title will be decided at the season-ending race in two weeks. The Croat leads the Frenchman by 36 points, while Andre Myhrer of Sweden also has a slim chance 95 points behind Kostelic.

Grange initially completed his first run and finished 0.52 off the lead, but later admitted the mistake.

"I don't know yet what the consequences of my mistake are," said Grange, referring to the finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. "I am not focussing on Ivica. He's a great slalom skier, but I have to concentrate on my own performance."

Kostelic, who was 11th after the opening run, could have secured the crystal globe by finishing in the top two. He failed to finish for a second straight race as he also went out in the opening run at Bansko a week ago.

A total of seven racers - including American Ted Ligety, who finished third in Saturday's GS - failed to finish their second run. Most skied out while coming off the difficult first steep section of the course.

The men's World Cup circuit travels to Kvitfjell, Norway, for speed races next weekend.