Men's Night Slalom
In Schladming's most exciting slalom race, which was held under floodlights in the pouring rain, in front of tens of thousands of spectators, 20-year-old Mario Matt from St. Anton beat Norway's veteran Ole Kristian Furuseth by an amazing 81/100 of a second and his teammate Thomas Stangassinger by 90/100.

	Mario Matt

It's his second success this season after having celebrated his first triumph two months ago at Kitzbühel. Prior to that he finished 4th once and 3rd twice in the slaloms at Todtnau, Adelboden and Yong Pyong.

Kjetil Aamodt, 4th after two tactical runs, reinforced his lead in the slalom World Cup standings ahead of Matjaz Vrhovnik, who only took 12th this time.

"It was the first time I won the first run in a World Cup race, and it's really tough for the nerves to be the last to start in the second run..." — Mario Matt (AUT)

The Nagano Olympic Champion Hans Petter Burras was 5th in front of two Austrians, including the young and relaxed Ronald Stampfer, who moved up from 21st to 7th place after a very aggressive second run.

America's Erik Schloppy, 28th after the first leg, skied out in the middle of Round 2 after having clocked a promising intermediate time. Also very fast on his way down the treacherous second run, was the winner from Todtnau, Rainer Schoenfelder, who had been 3rd after the first run. He was only 1/100 slower than Matt when he skied out in the last gate.

The huge crowd which showed up despite the bad weather watched a worthwhile competition — and an amazing exhibition of tightrope walking by Mario Matt. More than once the Tyrolian was obviously skiing beyond his limits, nearly crashing off the course, saving himself in the last fraction of a second.

	Thomas Stangassinger

In fact, Matt only accelerated after each mistake and one of them could have been fatal — he almost stopped in a wide right turn placed at the beginning of the last steep section. But his strong nerve, his confidence and his fighting spirit propelled him even faster back onto the right track. He even gained half a second on Furuseth in the final part where his long legs helped him to knit the fastest path down the finish line.

"I thought he was in deep trouble in that gate, but in fact, he recovered himself brilliantly and even boosted his speed after that mistake," said an impressed Furuseth after that race. "He is really special —very spectacular and always pushing himself."

Matt, racing in only his first World Cup season, was aware of the quality of his performance. "It was a tough race to win today and I was very nervous before the second run," admitted the shy Austrian, who with his two gold earrings and his dyed-blond hair, is very popular among his younger fans.

"It was the first time I won the first run in a World Cup race, and it's really tough for the nerves to be the last to start in the second run," he added.

"The time difference between the leaders was really narrow and I had no other choice than to push myself to the limits to win that race. It's was such an exciting competition with all those spectators, the music, the noise; it was a very special atmosphere. I have reached much more than I dreamed about at the season's start."

For sure the most promising slalom talent in Austria, Matt is aiming for more than slalom victories in the future. "He has scored some great results in all the events in his junior years and he wants to compete soon in the giant slalom and Super G too," said Phillipe Auer, head of the racing department of Salomon skis, who discovered Mayy just a year ago.

"He is quite reserved in his manner but also very ambitious. He feels that he can do much more in future, including fighting once for the Overall World Cup win. He is very focused and he will be difficult to beat next year in slalom," Auer said.

A great crowd is expected again Saturday in nearby Hinterstoder, where a men's giant slalom is planned, the last race before the finals in Bormio.

Most of the spectators will come to encourage Hermann Maier, who unexpectedly crashed Wednesday in Kranjska Gora, in his quest for his second giant slalom World Cup title. Among his rivals, Switzerland's Michael von Gruenigen, Christian Mayer, the winner Wednesday at Kranjska Gora, and France's Joel Chenal, 3rd in Yong Pyong and 2nd Wednesday.

— Manuele Joyce, MountainZone.com World Cup Correspondent