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First Noël. Olympic slalom champion Clément leads first run of World Cup race
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France's Clement Noel speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Alta Badia, Italy, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. - photo by AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati
ALTA BADIA, Italy (AP) — In Alpine skiing's last World Cup race before Christmas, Noël is first. Clément Noël, the Olympic champion whose family name is French for Christmas, took a 0.09-second lead in the first run of a slalom Monday on the icy Gran Risa course in the Dolomites mountains. Atle Lie McGrath, the Vermont-born Norwegian, was second and Loïc Meillard was third with 0.26 to make up in the afternoon run.