Austrian Marcel Hirscher won the World Cup Vip Snow Queen Trophy men's slalom race at Sljeme, overlooking Zagreb, on Thursday. German Felix Neureuther came second and Croatia's Ivica Kostelic finished third.
Three more Croatian skiers competed in the first run, but none made it into the second stage of the competition.
About 18,000 spectators watched the second leg of the race, and among them were Croatian President Ivo Josipovic, Prime Minter Zoran Milanovic, government ministers and many sport figures headed by the president of the Croatian Olympic Committee, Zlatko Matesa.
The best slalom racers of the world were vying for a prize fund of 120,000 euros, and the winner will receive 42,000 euros.
In the overall World Cup standings, Hirscher has taken the lead with 525 points. He is followed by Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal with 456 points and American Ted Ligety with 403 points. Croatia's Kostelic is fourth with 389 points and Natko Zrncic Dim is 105th with five points.
In the slalom standings, Kostelic leads with 305 points, Hirscher is second with 260 points and Italian Cristian DeVille is third with 230 points.
