Intro:

Austria's Nicole Hosp won the women's slalom event at the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in Aspen, USA on Sunday (30 November).

Script:

Nicole Hosp of Austria marked a return to form with her first World Cup victory since 2008 in the American resort of Aspen on Sunday.

Despite lying back in seventh spot following her first run in the slalom, the former world champion set a blistering pace in the second, powering over the line for a combined time of 1 minute 44.90 seconds.

Hosp's unexpected comeback win was the 12th of her World Cup career.

Frida Hansdotter, sixth after the first run, initially looked on course to overhaul Hosp's lead.

Fastest at the first time check, the Swedish racer then lost some of her momentum, eventually finishing a close second, just point one-nine of a second behind Hosp.

After two consistent runs through the posts, Hosp's compatriot Kathrin Zettel was third for her tenth podium finish at Aspen.

The Olympic bronze medallist won this event when it was last held in Aspen in 2012.

Olympic slalom champion Mikaela Shiffrin, still chasing her first World Cup victory in her home country, led after the first run but dropped down to fifth place after the second.

The young American didn't make any significant mistakes but failed to ski at her best, ending up 1.08 seconds behind Hosp.

Shiffrin has ten World Cup wins, nine of them in slalom, but all have come in Europe.

Slovenia's Tina Maze captured the opening slalom of the season two weeks ago in Finland, but she too suffered a drop down the leader board after her second run.

Lying just behind Shiffrin after her first descent round the poles, the two-time Olympic champion slipped down to a disappointing ninth place overall.