THIS IS A FIRST-RUN STORY — READ THE FULL RACE STORY HERE

BEIJING — Austrian skier Johannes Strolz took a slim lead over Norwegian teammates Henrik Kristoffersen and Sebastian Foss-Solevaag on Wednesday after the first run of the men’s slalom at the Beijing Olympics.

The 29-year-old Strolz, who won the Alpine combined last week in his first ever Olympic race, finished the first leg in 53.92 seconds. Kristoffersen was .02 seconds behind and Foss-Solevaag trailed by .06.

“The snow is a little uneven between being aggressive and icy in some spots,” Kristoffersen said. “It’s equal for everyone but I think it’s going to be rough for the second run.”

The slalom combines the times of two runs.

There have been six different winners in six World Cup slaloms this season.

“It’s really a nice course and slope,” Foss-Solevaag said. “It’s a low speed. You really have to work for it. It’s good for us Norwegians. We are a (strong) team.”

Lucas Braathen, another Norwegian, leads the discipline standings but straddled a gate and is out of the race. Another pre-race favorite, Manuel Feller, did the same.

Strolz has been an unexpected success at the Beijing Olympics. Before a win in Adelboden, Switzerland, last month, the Austrian’s best finish in more than eight years of World Cup racing was 10th place. He was dropped from the Austrian team at the end of last season but worked his way back into the squad recently and made the Olympic team.