W. German Roth Wins 1st Slalom of World Cup Season

MT. HUTT, New Zealand —  West German Peter Roth overcame 13 rivals with a sizzling second run today and won the opening slalom race of the 1990-91 World Cup season by a hundredth of a second over Austrian Michael Tritscher.

The victory was the 29-year-old Roth’s first in 12 years on the World Cup circuit.

Roth, 14th after the first run and 1.57 seconds behind leader Alberto Tomba of Italy, stormed down the course in 49.53 seconds on his second trip for a combined time of 1 minute, 42.69 seconds.

Tritscher finished second in 1:42.70 and Tomba ended up third in 1:42.77 after a disappointing second run. Afterward, the Italian star said the course, softened by overnight snow, hampered him.