On the famous night slalom course in front of a roaring 45,000 strong crowd, Noël bounced back from a run of five non-finishes in 10 World Cup slalom races since his victory at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics last year.

Noël was seventh after recording a first run of 54.96sec, but improved considerably in run two, finishing it in 54.01, giving him a total time of 1min 48.97sec and elevating himself to the top of the podium.

Ramon Zenhaeusern of Switzerland took silver, putting an injury-hit season behind him, recording a time of 54.85 on run one.

He then improved to 54.19 on run two, finishing with a total of 1:49.04, to seal second.

The podium was completed by the season’s overall slalom leader Lucas Braathen of Norway, who recorded times of 54.76 and 54.59 to finish with 1:49.35 in third place.

Reflecting on his victory Noël said: "It was tough the beginning of the season, that’s why it feels so special to win here tonight because I struggled a lot, with the confidence and everything."

Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway led after the first run with a time of 54.19, but errors on run two saw him drop back to finish in 11th place overall.

Action is scheduled to continue at Schladming tomorrow with the giant slalom, again under the floodlights at the Austrian resort.