Kostelic wins Cup slalom

ALTA BADIA, Italy: Croat Ivica Kostelic won a men's World Cup slalom on Monday, almost five years since his last victory in the discipline.

Boosted by his second place in the previous day's giant slalom, his first ever podium in the specialty, the Croat kept up the momentum to bag his ninth World Cup victory.

In a combined time of one minute and 39.83 seconds, the 29-year-old all-rounder beat two of the best slalom specialists, France's Jean-Baptiste Grange and Austria's Benjamin Raich.