KITZBUEHEL, Austria -- Defending overall champion Marcel Hirscher posted the fastest time in the first run of a World Cup slalom in heavy snow Friday. Air Force 1 Low Utility Pas Cher . The Austrian opened the race in 56.92 seconds. Felix Neureuther of Germany was 0.38 behind to become the only racer within a second of the lead. Luca Aerni of Switzerland, who started 27th, finished 1.36 behind in third, closely followed by Fritz Dopfer of Germany and Alexis Pinturault of France, who won the slalom in Wengen last week. "Visibilty was obviously bad," said Hirscher, who wiped his goggles immediately after crossing the finish line. Michael Janyk of Whistler, B.C., was the top Canadian in 17th place. Mario Matt of Austria skied out in the first run, which means Hirscher will remain in the lead of the slalom standings regardless the outcome of the second run. Hirscher is aiming to become the first slalom skier to win back-to-back crystal globes since Thomas Sykora in 1997 and 98. Its the final slalom before nations have to name their Alpine skiing teams for the Sochi Olympics. After days of mild weather, course workers salted the piste in order to harden up the surface, but the fresh snow made for difficult conditions. Furthermore, the unusual placing of some gates by Croatian coach Ante Kostelic made racing even harder. "On such a tough course the field gets torn apart," Hirscher said. Kostelic, the father of former overall champions Ivica and Janica, has made a name for setting challenging courses. A year ago in Kitzbuehel, the jury rejected a course set by Kostelic, deeming it as "unskiable." The course wasnt that extraordinary this time, though Neureuther said it was "by far the most difficult slalom in Kitzbuehel I have ever done." "Visibility is brutal, the course setting is extreme, and the piste is bad," the German said. "Its extreme but we are the best ski racers so we have to adapt to these conditions. I managed that quite well in the first run. I think nobody feels really well today." Nolan Kasper of the United States lost a pole when he tried to clean his goggles during the final part of his run. He still completed the final gates and came 3.34 seconds behind in 25th place. "Its definitely tough, its one or two gates in a row that get a lot of splashback," Kasper said. "Its not the snow falling, its the snow from the gate. Thats why I tried to wipe my goggles and dropped my pole. I am probably not going to do that next run." The second run will be held under floodlights later Friday. Nike Air Force 1 07 Soldes . The Brewers finalized a US$36 million, three-year contract with free agent third baseman Aramis Ramirez on Wednesday, adding a much-needed bat to their lineup. Air Force 1 Low Blanche . This is an exercise I have undertaken a few times, starting in 2009, and hope that Ive refined my approach a little bit in that time to help paint a better picture. http://www.siteairforce1pascher.fr/air-force-1-low-soldes.html . -- Adrian Peterson remained in a walking boot to treat a high ankle sprain on his left leg on Wednesday, and coach Leslie Frazier said he will not play on Sunday against Atlanta if he cant hit the practice field in the next two days.INDIANAPOLIS -- IndyCar fined Scott Dixon $30,000 on Friday and placed him on probation through the end of the year for disparaging comments after the Grand Prix of Baltimore. Last week in Baltimore, Dixon called for race director Beaux Barfield to be fired following a second consecutive frustrating race that affected his championship chances. Earlier this week, the New Zealand driver said he expected to be fined. "Reflecting on it, I shouldnt have been so outspoken and I probably will be fined for it and I respect that," Dixon told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "It was just frustration of a two-week period. For me, I love the sport, I want to see it better and what I did didnt help. My concern is not making things look bad for the series. I love my job and dont want to be doing anything else, and I dont want it to be perceived otherwise. I want to learn from the mmistakes weve made. Nike Air Force 1 Just Do It Noir. ." Dixon was penalized in Sonoma the previous week when his car made contact with a crew member for Will Power, series leader Helio Castroneves teammate, on the final pit stop. Barfield said Dixon had driven into the Penske Racing work space, but Dixon alleged the crew member walked into his car. The penalty cost Dixon a chance to race for the win, and opinion was split through the paddock as to who was at fault and if race control perhaps should have not penalized anyone. At Baltimore, Dixon was angered when officials ignored a Chip Ganassi Racing request to tow his car back to pit lane so his team could attempt to repair it following an accident with Will Power with 22 laps remaining. Dixon finished 19th and lost more ground to Castroneves in the championship race. Dixon is 49 points behind Castroneves with three races remaining. ' ' '