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LEVI, Finland (AP) - Reinfried Herbst of Austria won the men's World Cup slalom opener on Sunday, and American Bode Miller was disqualified in his first race of the season.
Herbst posted a two-run time of 1 minute, 49.79 seconds down the Black Course to beat runner-up Ivica Kostelic of Croatia by 0.28 seconds. It was Herbst's sixth career World Cup victory, all in slalom.
Miller barely qualified for the second run, finishing 30th in the opener to gain the last qualifying spot in his first race after nearly eight months off. The former two-time overall champion was disqualified after missing a gate in his second run. He had been training for only a month before the race.
His American teammates Ted Ligety and Jimmy Cochran finished 18th and 19th, respectively.
A year ago, Miller finished second in the slalom opener in Levi. That was his best result of the season and his first slalom podium since December 2004. Last season was the first in which he failed to win a race in nearly 10 years.
He cut the season short and skipped the World Cup Finals in Sweden after failing to medal at the world championships - the third straight major championship where he failed to make the podium.
Jean-Baptiste Grange of France, last year's winner in Levi, finished third, 0.53 behind.
First-run leader Andre Myhrer of Sweden made several mistakes in the second round and dropped to 11th, 1.41 behind.
