Dec 22 (Reuters) - Norway's Atle Lie ‌McGrath denied Olympic champion Clement Noel a first World Cup victory ‌of the season as he stormed to victory in the men's slalom ‌at Alta Badia on Monday.

Frenchman Noel led after the first run down the iconic Gran Risa but lost time with a scrappy start to his second and could not better McGrath, who ‍won with a combined time of 1:44.50. Noel ‍was 0.30 seconds back with Swiss ‌world champion Loic Meillard in third, 0.39 seconds slower.