WENGEN, Switzerland (AFP) - Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Grange produced a near flawless slalom performance to grab victory in the World Cup super-combined event here Friday.

France's Jean-Baptiste Grange speeds down the course on his way to winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup supercombined race, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Switzerland's Daniel Albrecht finished second with American Bode Miller, the big favourite for Sunday's downhill here, placing third.

Bode Miller, of the United States, negotiates a pole during the slalom portion of an alpine ski, men's World Cup supercombined race, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. Miller finished in third place. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Grange clocked a time of 2min 20.61sec for the two-discipline event, holding off a disappointed Albrecht by just 0.06sec and Miller by 0.51 to claim his second win of the season in the series.

The Frenchman's achievement was all the more impressive as he had only managed to finish 27th in the downhill, over three seconds off the pace of Swiss speed specialist Didier Cuche.

Switzwerland's Didier Cuche celebrates after winning an alpine ski, World Cup men's supercombined race, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. (Ap Photo/MarcoTrovati)

Grange, a slalom specialist who won bronze at the 2007 world championships in Sweden, admitted his relatively poor downhill run - compared to the specialists' efforts - had in fact given him the edge for the slalom.

"I was lucky I was one of the first out the gate and went on to have a great (slalom) run," said Grange, who won the slalom at Alta Badia in Italy last month.

"Until now my downhill hasn't been up to scratch but I went out there today determined to finish among the top 30. And I didn't make too many mistakes.

"Then I knew I could make up the lost time in the slalom, and reach the podium."

Launching point : Austrian skier Klaus Kroell takes the start of the men's downhill training session in front of the famous Eiger, Moench and Jungfrau mountains in Wengen, where he clocked the third time. (AFP/Oliver Morin)

Another winner on the day was Austrian Benni Raich, who finished fourth, at 0.55 behind Grange, to stretch his lead in the World Cup overall standings.

He now leads Albrecht by 164 points, with fellow Swiss racer Didier Cuche in third a point further adrift. Cuche, as planned, did not contend the slalom instead using the downhill section as training for Sunday's race.

Grange now shares the lead of the World Cup super-combined standings with Albrecht, both men on 180 points.

Albrecht was disappointed that he had decided to limit his risk-taking in the downhill section after hearing the crowd react to one of Miller's maverick moves.

"I knew Bode had come into difficulty at the Chemin section when I heard the crowd, so since I was out after him I decided not to take too many unnecessary risks," said Albrecht.

"So in the end I'm a bit disappointed to lose out by such a short margin. For me it's a defeat. I've lost 20 points in the standings, but you have to say also that second place in a World Cup event is not to be sniffed at."

Bode Miller of the USA speeds down the slope during the first practice for the Ski World Cup Downhill race in Wengen, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008. (AP Photo/Keystone, Peter Klaunzer)

Miller admitted that a change of skis had affected his slalom, but he most regretted his potentially major mishap in the downhill.

"I used new skis in the slalom so my approach was totally different to the way I skied in Adelboden," said the erratic American, who admitted one of his biggest wishes was just to finish the event.

"My biggest regret is the mistake I made at the Chemin section in the downhill."

AFP
Saturday January 12, 12:44 AM

France's Jean-Baptiste Grange, center, winner of an alpine ski, men's World Cup supercombined race, celebrates on the podium with second placed Daniel Albrecht, of Switzerland, left, and third placed Bode Miller, of the United States, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

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