Heavy Rain Wipes out World Cup Slalom after 31 Starters with Olympic Champion Clement Noel Leading

Olympic champion Clement Noel - The AP
Olympic champion Clement Noel - The AP
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Heavy Rain Wipes out World Cup Slalom after 31 Starters with Olympic Champion Clement Noel Leading

Olympic champion Clement Noel - The AP
Olympic champion Clement Noel - The AP

Heavy rain forced the cancellation of a men's World Cup slalom Sunday after 31 starters in the opening run, with Olympic champion Clement Noel leading the race.

Organizers initially interrupted the event but then called it off as conditions failed to improve.

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation said the safety of the racers was at stake due to the “inconsistent conditions with visibility.”

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the race will be rescheduled. The next two slaloms take place in the United States — in Palisades Tahoe on Feb. 25 and in Aspen on March 3, The AP reported.

Wet snow in the morning hours and persistent rain during the race softened the top layer of the Tomba course, and the track visibly worsened with each racer starting.

No skier after the top eight managed to finish within two seconds of Noel’s lead, a massive time difference for a slalom race.

Noel started second and the Frenchman beat Timon Haugan by 0.27 seconds, although TV footage suggested that Noel straddled a gate about 17 seconds into his run.

“I don’t know, it’s the first time in my life that I don’t know. I don’t think so, but my run was good,” Noel told Austrian TV.

Haugan’s Norwegian teammate Henrik Kristoffersen was 0.38 behind in third, as no other racer finished within a second of the lead.

Manuel Feller, who leads the discipline standings after seven races, was 1.30 behind in fifth.

It was the second slalom this season that was cancelled because of poor weather, after a race in Val d'Isere, France had to be called off in December.

The men's World Cup continues in Norway with a downhill and super-G in Kvitfjell next weekend.

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Paris Saint-Germain Looks to Clinch a Record-extending 13th French League Title

(FILES) A photograph taken on November 23, 2020 shows a logo of Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, on the eve of the UEFA Champions League Group H football match between Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
(FILES) A photograph taken on November 23, 2020 shows a logo of Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, on the eve of the UEFA Champions League Group H football match between Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
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Paris Saint-Germain Looks to Clinch a Record-extending 13th French League Title

(FILES) A photograph taken on November 23, 2020 shows a logo of Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, on the eve of the UEFA Champions League Group H football match between Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
(FILES) A photograph taken on November 23, 2020 shows a logo of Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, on the eve of the UEFA Champions League Group H football match between Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

The one-sided Ligue 1 title race could end on Saturday, with Paris Saint-Germain needing only a draw at home against Angers to clinch a record-extending 13th crown.

PSG's massive 21-point lead means it would have to lose the next seven games and Monaco win them all to overtake the Parisians, who are unbeaten in 27 league games, the Associated Press said.

PSG could finish the league campaign unbeaten, although coach Luis Enrique's side still has to play Nice and has a tricky match away to Strasbourg, with both opponents locked in a tight battle to qualify for next season's Champions League.

This season's Champions League, too, is in Luis Enrique’s thoughts.

Good time to rest players? With a quarterfinal first-leg match against Aston Villa coming up in Paris on Wednesday, PSG can afford to rest several key players against Angers. Coach Alexandre Dujeux's side is 14th and has lost four straight league games without scoring a goal, conceding 11.

However, Enrique is not fond of squad rotation so may field close to a full-strength team at Parc des Princes.

How can PSG lose a game? It is hard to see how, given that PSG has not dropped any points since a 1-1 draw at home to Reims on Jan. 25, winning eight straight games.

A glimmer of hope for PSG's remaining opponents is that the team starts slowly and is prone to conceding early goals.

PSG fell behind early against Saint-Etienne last weekend, and it trailed 2-0 within 27 minutes to second-tier Dunkerque in the French Cup semifinal on Tuesday. PSG ended up winning both matches and scoring 10 goals in the process, but there is still a significant weakness against set-pieces and crosses.

Rosenior makes his mark One of the biggest success stories this season has been Strasbourg's remarkable rise to sixth place under English coach Liam Rosenior.

Even more so considering it is his first season, and that he had only two weeks of preseason preparation with his new players.

Led by striker Emanuel Emegha (12 goals), the Alsace-based side has lost only once in the past 14 league games to join the chase for a Champions League spot.

Rosenior's team is on a four-game winning run heading into Sunday’s trip to play relegation-threatened Reims. It is one point behind fourth-place Nice and three behind third-place Marseille, with the top four qualifying.

“I will never stop my players dreaming,” Rosenior said about making the Champions League. “Of course it's possible.”

He'll find out soon enough.

Strasbourg has back-to-back games against Nice and Monaco this month and, with the race so tight, may need to beat PSG on May 4.

Marseille is in a slump Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi was fuming with his players after last Saturday's 3-1 loss at struggling Reims.

So was midfielder Adrien Rabiot, who questioned the attitude of his teammates.

With good reason, as Marseille's third straight defeat allowed Monaco to move into second place.

But De Zerbi may want to look a bit deeper. Perhaps he should not have allowed his players to get so carried away when, after beating Lyon 3-2 in February, they embarked on a lap of honor and posed for a giant team photo as if they'd won a trophy.

Marseille has lost four out of seven games since. Fans will be looking for a home win against Toulouse on Sunday.