Albert Popov placed 18th in the slalom in the Austrian resort of Gurgl of the World Cup in alpine skiing disciplines, BTA reports. The Bulgarian was sixth after the first heat and was riding well until the middle of the second, but he made a mistake exiting the steep section of the Kirchenkar circuit, which cost him a serious drop in the standings.
The winner of the race was Clément Noel, who finished with a total time of 1 minute and 46.25 seconds over the two heats. The Frenchman gave the best time already in the first race, in which he recorded a result of 52.76 seconds, and in the second he allowed himself to return the gas, but still he could not be displaced from the leading position.
Noel's achievement was 1.49 seconds better than Popov's. After the first run, the difference between the two was 1.29 seconds.
The Swedish Christopher Jacobsen finished in second place today. He was 0.43 seconds behind Olympic champion Noel. The Swede was eighth after the first half of the race, but was one of the fastest on the second pass of the course and deservedly congratulated himself with a place on the podium.
Norwegian Atle Lee McGrath took third place, just a hundredth from Jacobsen. He was second after the first heat, and although he doubled his gap to Noel, he not only failed to catch him, but even lost a position due to Jacobsen's strong performance.
In the general standings for the World Cup after the first three starts, the leader is Henrik Kristoffersen with 200 points, as well as Noel. Norwegian Alexander Steen Olsen is third with 148 points. Albert Popov is in 25th place with 26 points.