Larsson triumphs in final slalom

Larsson was second after the first run

Sweden's Markus Larsson claimed his first World Cup success by winning the final slalom of the season in Aare.

Larsson clocked one minute 41.35 seconds while Stephane Tissot of France was second in 1:42.17 and Canada's Thomas Grandi third in 1:42.28.

Italian Giorgio Rocca, who clinched the World Cup slalom title on Friday after rival Kalle Pallender suffered an injury, did not finish his second run.

Rocca had clocked the fastest time in the first leg but later crashed out.

Larsson is the first Swede to win a World Cup slalom since Thomas Fogdoe in 1993 and the first Swede to win any event for four years.

It was the fourth time in a row that Rocca, who began the season with five straight World Cup slalom wins, had failed to finish.

"I was really going for the win and then I just slipped out," said Rocca, who became the first Italian man to win a World Cup title since Alberto Tomba in 1995.

"Still, it's a great achievement, this is a big win. I'm really sorry for Kalle though, I hope he gets better and that we will race together in Levi (in Finland) in November."

American Bode Miller, who was 11th in the opening run, finished the season by failing to finish his sixth of eight slalom World Cup races.

Miller, who finished second in Wednesday's downhill, won Thursday's super-G - but slammed into a gate and veered off in the first run of the giant slalom on Friday. He will not race Sunday's team event.

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Race result:
1. Markus Larsson, Sweden, 1 minute, 41.35 seconds
2. Stephane Tissot (Fra) 1:42.17
3. Thomas Grandi (Can) 1:42.28
4. Ivica Kostelic (Cro) 1:42.31
5. Pierrick Bourgeat (Fra) 1:42.34
6. Mario Matt (Aut) 1:42.60
7. Aksel Lund Svindal (Nor) 1:42.98
8. Rainer Schoenfelder (Aut) 1:43.05
9. Akira Sasaki (Jpn) 1:43.06
10. Andre Myhrer (Swe) 1:43.29

Final World Cup slalom standings:
1. Giorgio Rocca (Ita) 547 points
2. Kalle Palander (Fin) 495
3. Benjamin Raich (Aut) 410
4. Ted Ligety (US) 396
5. Thomas Grandi (Can) 360
6. Stephane Tissot (Fra) 336
7. Akira Sasaki (Jpn) 333
8. Reinfried Herbst (Aut) 316
9. Markus Larsson (Swe) 291
10. Jean-Pierre Vidal (Fra) 253