Pierrick Bourgeat is enjoying Japan. The 25-year-old French skier claimed his second straight victory in a World Cup slalom on the Olympic run at Shiga Kogen, a feat achieved only once before, in 1994, by the great Italian skier, Alberto Tomba.

That year, in Lech, Austria, Tomba won three races in three days, and he went on to win the following giant slalom at Alta Badia. Four months later he clinched his first and only Overall World Cup title during the finals at Bormio.

Bourgeat defied the tricky conditions of the piste, made soft by warm weather, and edged out by 15/100 of a second Austria's most consistent slalom skier, Heinz Schilchegger, who finished 2nd in yesterday's slalom. Slovenia's Jure Kosir, 3rd, rounded out the podium.

"It's crazy—one victory and I was happy. Two victories in two days—it's fabulous."

With this win, Bourgeat ended an impressive series — eight consecutive Austrian successes on the World Cup tour. Hermann Maier and his teammates have been unbeaten since Michael von Gruenigen's victory at Les Arcs, France, in early January.

Bourgeat's third career success is even more impressive as he also clocked the fastest time in the first leg of the competition and fought hard in the second run to defend his lead against the other elite skiers.

"It's something special to win this second race this way because I didn't take it by surprise this time," he said. "I know the feeling of being the last to start; I experienced it at Kitzbuhel two years ago. It's quite tough, but now my focus is stronger than in 1999."

Raising his arms in the air after crossing the finish line, Bourgeat fell on his back after finding out he remained in the lead. "It's crazy—one victory and I was happy. Two victories in two days— it's fabulous," he said to his teammates, who carried him on their shoulders in the finish area.

The Frenchman was particularly proud to have entirely dominated this race, not coming from behind when he reached the podium, as he has so often in the past. For instance, in December he was 21st in the first run at Sestriere, Italy, before moving up to 3rd. In his win on Saturday, he was 9th after the first run.

The sunny weather made the snow heavy, which worked against top racers in the second leg when the start order is reversed and the best skiers race last. Bourgeat managed to keep his nerves under control and hold onto his lead from the first leg.

"Because I won the first leg, there was pressure. My trainers were nervous, even upset. One of them told me after the first run, 'you put yourself in trouble, but you have to resolve your problem alone now.' But this time, I did not crack; I felt so relaxed and strong."

"I was sick at St. Anton," Bourgeat added, "yet I managed to be 9th; it was a nice boost for my morale. I told myself that I would do much better when I was healthy again."

The new slalom World Champion, Mario Matt, finished 4th. Benjamin Raich was 6th - good enough to retain a strong lead of 60 points over Heinz Schilchegger, his only rival now in the slalom World Cup standings.

Norway's Hans-Petter Buraas, who skied out in the second run, can now only fight for 3rd place against Matt and Bourgeat at the last slalom of the winter in Are, Sweden, in three weeks.

The Japanese crowd was disappointed when its best slalom skier, Kentaro Shinagawa, skied out only a few gates before the finish after cruising down the slope at a nice pace. He was shooting for a top-10 position.

America's Erik Schlopy tried to repeat his great performance from yesterday, but fell in the final part of the second run. He didn't give up though— coming in dead last, he still scored some points. Schlopy was aiming for a top-10 finish, which would have helped him to qualify for the finals in Are.

The next men's races will take place this weekend on the Olympic course at Snowbasin, Utah, near Salt Lake City, where two downhills and a super G are planned.

— Manuèle Lang, World Cup Correspondent

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