Skiing: Alberto takes first slalom

Spaniard Alberto Rovira-Caus narrowly edged out the top seeded Bradley Wall of Australia to win the first giant slalom of the Milo Australia-New Zealand Cup ski series at Coronet Peak yesterday.

Wall won the first run by one-tenth of a second but Rovira-Caus clinched the title with a quick second run to record a combined time of 1m 37.50s - just .36s ahead of Wall.

Fifth-placed Todd Hayward was the best-performed New Zealander, completing the runs in 1:39.84.

Australia dominated the women's race, top seed Jenny Owens a clear winner in 1:38.46, ahead of Jeanette Korten, and Alice Jones.