Kitzbuehel, Austria – A victory in Sunday’s Audi FIS Alpine World Cup combined event in Kitzbuehel continued the momentum for Croatia’s Ivica Kostelic.nFrance’s Jean-Baptiste Grange won the slalom, while Kostelic was second and won the traditional combined. Vermont’s Nolan Kasper posted a career best result by finishing 12th in the slalom to earn another slalom start spot for the U.S. His teammates Bode Miller and Ted Ligety were in a good position for the combined after Saturday’s downhill but did not finish the first run of slalom.

“Nolan’s put down impressive Europa Cup results building up to now and has shown speed all the way through the prep period and the World Cup season,” said U.S. Ski Team coach Mike Day. “It’s really exciting to see him have the hard work pay off.”

Grange clocked 48.33 seconds on his second run to claim the slalom victory with a combined time of 1:40.93. Kostelic, the first run leader, was second with an overall time of 1:41.21. Italy’s Giuliano Razzoli was third, in 1:41.62.

Finishing behind Kostelic in the combined was Swiss racer Silvan Zurbriggen in second, followed by Romed Baumann of Austria in third.

Canada finished with four skiers in the top 30 of the slalom. Calgary’s Brad Spence finished in 14th following a disappointing 29th in the first run. He was followed in the standings by teammates Julien Cousineau, of Lachute, Qubec, in 15th; Whistler, British Columbia’s Michael Janyk in 17th; and Paul Stutz, of Banff, Alberta in 25th place.

“It’s always a good day when you get that many guys in the 30,” said Canadian Alpine Ski Team head coach Paul Kristofic. “They were in a position to take advantage in the second run and Brad did that – he took a big bite out of (his time).”

Next up for the World Cup men is a stop in Schladming, Austria, where a night slalom will be held on Tuesday. “Super Bowl of slalom is coming up in Schladming,” said Day. “We are excited to be surrounded by 50,000 fans. It’s getting down to the wire now and Nolan just put himself in a good position for World Champs qualification. It’s looking forward to an exciting race coming up.”

The U.S. World Championships ski team will be named on Wednesday.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
Audi FIS Alpine World Cup
Kitzbuehel, Austria – Jan. 23, 2011

Slalom
1. Jean-Baptiste Grange, France, 1:40.93
2. Ivica Kostelic, Croatia, 1:41.21
3. Giuliano Razzoli, Italy, 1:41.62

Combined
1. Ivica Kostelic, Croatia, 3:40.84
2. Silvan Zurbriggen, Switzerland, 3:42.77
3. Romed Baumann, Austria, 3:47.51