Alexis Pinturault led a one-two finish for France in a men’s World Cup giant slalom event on Saturday in Yuzawa, Japan.
Pinturault, who was in second place after the first run, used a blistering second run of 1 minute 17.78 seconds to finish 0.51 of a second ahead of his compatriot Mathieu Faivre. Massimiliano Blardone of Italy was third, 0.67 off the pace.
“The race was not easy,” said Pinturault, who earned his first giant slalom win of the season. “It was quite bumpy on the second run, and there were some gates you had to control and some gates you had to attack.