MOSCOW (AFP) - Felix Neureuther of Germany won the World Cup parallel slalom here on Friday in an event staged on an artificial slope to help promote Russia's readiness to host the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Winner Felix Neureuther of Germany passes a gate during the men's parallel slalom at the FIS Alpine World Cup promotion event in Moscow, Friday, Jan. 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

France's Jean-Baptiste Grange races down the slope as Russia's Stepan Zuev, left, falls down during the men's parallel slalom at the FIS Alpine World Cup promotion event in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Jan. 2, 2009. Jean-Baptiste Grange won the second place. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

France's Jean-Baptiste Grange was second with American superstar Bode Miller taking third ahead of compatriot Ted Ligety in a competition held in the shadow of the Kremlin.

Second placed Jean-Baptiste Grange of France, right, and the third placed Bode Miller of the United States, compete during the men's parallel slalom at the FIS Alpine World Cup promotion event in Moscow, Friday, Jan. 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

"I feel great," Neureuther said. "It's natural to feel great when you win.

"It was very interesting to compete on this artificial ramp. It's completely different to a natural slope, but still a really challenging and interesting experience."

German's Felix Neureuther, right, and France's Jean-Baptiste Grange celebrate their first and second place win after the men's parallel slalom at the FIS Alpine World Cup promotion event in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Jan. 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

The 24-year-old Neureuther defeated Bernard Vajdic of Slovenia in the opening round, Austria's Mario Matt in the quarter-final and Ligety in the semis before beating FIS World Cup slalom section leader Grange in the deciding races.

Neureuther won the first leg of the final and finished even with the Frenchman in the second.

The referees decided to give the finalists the third deciding attempt but Grange missed his chance as he fell in the middle of the distance.

A special 200m artificial ski slope, with a 56m drop in height, was constructed within the campus of Moscow State University specially for the event.

The slope erected for the World Cup parallel slalom is seen during a training session in Moscow, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009. The MGU, Moscow State University, building is seen in the background. The event will take place on Friday. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

The organisers however had to bring to Moscow a caravan of refrigerators with more than 3,000 cubic metres of natural snow from Siberia to provide the competitors with a top-class surface that fit strict FIS demands.

AFP Friday, 02 January 2009, 07:50 PM

Neureuther triumphs in Moscow

Felix Neureuther claimed the win in the promotional Parallel Slalom event on an artificial slope constructed in front of Moscow's State University.

The German specialist defeated Bernard Vajdic of Slovenia in the opening round, Austria's Mario Matt in the quarter-final and Ligety in the semis before beating FIS World Cup slalom section leader Grange in a deciding run.

German's Felix Neureuther races down the slope during the men's parallel slalom at the FIS Alpine World Cup promotion event in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Jan. 2, 2009. Felix Neureuther of Germany dominated in all runs to win a promotional parallel slalom World Cup event on an artificial slope constructed in front of Moscow's State University's main building. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Neureuther won the first leg of the final and finished even with the Frenchman in the second.

The referees decided to give the finalists the third deciding attempt but Grange missed his chance as he fell in the middle of the distance.

Bode Miller of US finished third by beating fellow countryman Ted Ligety in the small final.

Ted Ligety, of the United States, right, poses for photographers with Russian girls during a training session at the World Cup parallel slalom in Moscow, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009. The event will take place on Friday. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

Aksel Svindal of Norway race down the slope during the men's parallel slalom at the FIS Alpine World Cup promotion event in Moscow, Friday, Jan. 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

The 24-year-old Bavarian had a disappointing first part of season in the World Cup circuit, with a 24th place in the SC at Val d'Isere as best result.

Skiers race down the slope during their training session at the World Cup parallel slalom in Moscow, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009. The event will take place on Friday. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

Neureuther earned a 40,000 euro first-prize.

Organizers estimated over 25,000 attended the FIS Alpine promotional event.

fisalpineworldcup.com
2/1/2009

Top slalom racers meet Vladimir Putin

In Moscow, ready to compete in Friday's invitational parallel slalom, 16 of the world's top slalom skiers from the men's Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup tour received a special honor today: after a tour of the Kremlin, the skiers were invited to a private audience with Russian prime minister, former president of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

(Photo: FIS)

Mr Putin, a great fan of Alpine Skiing, expressed his pleasure in being able to greet the top slalom specialists in the VIP lounge constructed for the special guests at the night slalom on Friday, 2nd January as of 18 CET/20:00 local time. He underscored the importance of the city event for the development of skiing in Russia in the build up to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

The especially constructed ramp is 56 meters high and some 30 meters wide. The 150 m long slope features 14 gates for each racer.

The slope erected for the World Cup parallel slalom seen during the men's parallel slalom at the FIS Alpine World Cup promotion event in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Jan. 2, 2009. The MGU, Moscow State University, building is seen in the background. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

The participants include Jean-Baptiste Grange, the slalom World Cup leader, Manfred Moelgg (ITA), last season's slalom World Cup champion, Mario Matt (AUT), the defending slalom world champion along with Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR), the current World Cup leader, Felix Neureuther (GER), Jens Byggmark (SWE), Didier Cuche (SUI) who is donating his $10'000 start money to charity, Americans Bode Miller and Ted Ligety, just to mention a few of the 16 racers.

First round pairings:

Jean-Baptiste Grange (FRA/1) - Stepan Sujew (RUS), Jens Byggmark (SWE/8) - Cristian Deville (ITA), Julien Lizeroux (FRA/5) - Bode Miller (USA), Reinfried Herbst (AUT/4) - Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR); Mario Matt (AUT/3) - Didier Cuche (SUI/14), Felix Neureuther (GER/6) - Bernard Vajdic (SLO), Ted Ligety (USA/7) - Giorgio Rocca (ITA), Manfred Mölgg (ITA/2) - Alexander Horoschilow (RUS).

FIS news
2/1/2009