Alexis Pinturault, who led after the first run, did not make it to the finish due to a mistake a just few gates before the finish line.

"It's a wonderful feeling because it's not easy to stay on top all of the time, especially in slalom, which is a tough discipline," the veteran Croatian skier, who was third after the first run, said after what is his second slalom victory at the Vitranc Cup after ten years.

Hirscher, who is in the lead in overall World Cup standings, was satisfied after what he said was a tough race. He finished 8th in the first run, so he did his best to make up for the mistake in the second run.

The race was held in wet conditions, starting in rain, which later turned to snow. Hirscher was especially glad that the race was not cancelled because he could increase his overall lead ahead of Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway, who does not compete in slalom.

Meanwhile, Hirscher's rival for the small crystal globe, Felix Neureuther of Germany, did not finish the first run.

Slovenia's best slalom racer Mitja Valenčič dropped out in the first run, while the other Slovenian skiers failed to qualify for the final of the slalom race at the 52nd Vitranc Cup.

* Today's results:
1 Ivica Kostelić (Cro)         1:45.81       52.30   53.51
2 Marcel Hirscher (Aut)        1:46.00 +0.19 52.90   53.10
3 Mario Matt (Aut)             1:46.15 +0.34 52.74   53.41
4 Jens Byggmark (Swe)          1:46.18 +0.37 52.42   53.76
5 Reinfried Herbst (Aut)       1:46.38 +0.57 53.42   52.96
6 Andre Myhrer (Swe)           1:46.73 +0.92 52.24   54.49
7 Markus Larsson (Swe)         1:47.08 +1.27 53.74   53.34
8 Naoki Juasa (Jap)            1:47.22 +1.41 52.93   54.29
9 Manfred Mölgg (Ita)          1:47.38 +1.57 53.01   54.37
10 Fritz Dopfer (Ger)           1:47.40 +1.59 53.08   54.32

- World Cup overall (32 out of 36 events):
1 Marcel Hirscher (Aut)     1375 točk
2 Aksel Lund Svindal (Nor)  1226
3 Ted Ligety (USA)           922
4 Felix Neureuther (Ger)     848
5 Ivica Kostelić (Cro)       840
6 Alexis Pinturault (Fra)    730
7 Manfred Mölgg (Ita)        584
8 Hannes Reichelt (Aut)      571
9 Andre Myhrer (Swe)         525
10 Christof Innerhofer (Ita)  522
...
48 Rok Perko (Slo)            138
61 Andrej Šporn (Slo)         107
86 Mitja Valenčič (Slo)        47
113 Klemen Kosi (Slo)           18
120 Boštjan Kline (Slo)         14
126 Janez Jazbec (Slo)          12
129 Andrej Jerman (Slo)         10
...
- World Cup Slalom (after 10 out of 11 events):
1 Marcel Hirscher (Aut)      880
2 Felix Neureuther (Ger)     616
3 Andre Myhrer (Swe)         482
4 Ivica Kostelić (Cro)       475
5 Manfred Mölgg (Ita)        309
6 Fritz Dopfer (Ger)         288
7 Jens Byggmark (Swe)        274
8 Mario Matt (Aut)           269
9 Alexis Pinturault (Fra)    264
10 Reinfried Herbst (Aut)     197
...
32 Mitja Valenčič (Slo)         47