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Noel suffers nasty crash in Val d'Isere giant slalom / Photo: © AFP
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Noel suffers nasty crash in Val d'Isere giant slalom
Olympic champion Clement Noel, winner of the first two slalom races of the World Cup season, crashed heavily in Saturday's giant slalom at home in Val d'Isere.
Competing under snowfall and in poor visibility, the French skier took a gate head-on after 45 seconds of racing and finished in the net.
The 27-year-old appeared to take a knock to his right leg but was able to put his skis back on and reach the bottom of the piste relying only on his left leg.
Noel looked in good spirits at the finish line despite appearing to have broken teeth and having a painful right ankle.
The Olympic slalom champion won the first two races in that discipline in Levi, Finland and Gurgl, Austria last month.
He was aiming for a third win in as many races in the first giant slalom of the season in the Alpine resort he has called home since his teenage days.
Swiss Marco Odermatt topped the times for the giant slalom first run on Saturday, 0.15 seconds ahead of Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen.
O. Larsen--BTZ
