SCHLADMING, Austria (AP) — Lucas Pinheiro Braathen was fastest in the opening run of a men’s World Cup giant slalom on Tuesday, proving again he is an Olympic medal contender for Brazil not just in slalom.

Pinheiro Braathen has two GS wins from the time he was competing for Norway but is chasing his first victory in the discipline since his switch to the Brazilian ski federation in 2024.

Tuesday’s race in Austria is the last GS before the Feb. 14 Olympic race in Bormio.

Racing under the floodlights, Pinheiro Braathen wasn’t among the fastest starters but mastered the bottom part of the icy Planai course.

Loic Meillard of Switzerland finished 0.06 seconds off the lead and third-ranked Fabian Gratz of Germany was 0.31 behind.

Marco Odermatt, the 2022 Olympic GS champion, had 0.94 to make up in the second run later Tuesday. The Swiss star is the only racer with multiple GS wins this season — three, including the most recent in Adelboden.

Last November, Pinheiro Braathen won a slalom in Finland to give Brazil its maiden victory in a top-level ski race.

He has racked up four podium results in GS — all second places — since his nation switch, including two in the current season.

Pinheiro Braathen stepped away from the sport in October 2023 following a dispute with the Norwegian ski federation over his personal marketing rights, but returned a year later to represent Brazil, his mother’s native country.

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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing