Levi, Finland - Austria's Reinfried Herbst claimed victory in the opening men's slalom race of the World Cup season Sunday in the Finnish resort of Levi. Herbst won in a combined time of 1 minute 49.79 seconds for his two runs, finishing 0.28 seconds ahead of Croatia's Ivica Kostelic. Defending world champion Jean-Baptiste Grange of France had to be satisfied with third in a time of 1:50.32 minutes.
Kostelic heads the overall World Cup standings with 102 points after two of 34 races. Cuche and Herbst lie joint second, two points adrift.
