Giovanni Auletta / AP

Bode Miller negotiates a gate during the first run of his World Cup slalom race on Tuesday.

updated 6:16 p.m. ET Jan. 27, 2009

SCHLADMING, Austria - Reinfried Herbst led an Austrian 1-2 finish in a World Cup night slalom on Tuesday, while Bode Miller finished eighth.

Herbst, who led after the opening leg, won in a combined time of 1 minute, 37.32 seconds. He beat Manfred Pranger by 1.16 seconds for his second win of the season and fifth overall.

Ivica Kostelic of Croatia was third and extended his lead in the overall standings.

Miller, the defending overall champion, finished in 1:39.34. Ted Ligety of the United States was ninth.

Nine of the 30 racers missed a gate in their second run on the Planai course because of tough conditions following a recent heavy snowfall.

Ligety was disappointed it too him so long to reach a top-10 finish this season.

“Last year I had several podiums by now,” he said. “I guess that’s how it goes sometimes. I feel like I’m skiing better than last year, but just luck is not going my way. Hopefully I’ll stay in the top seeds now.”

Herbst and Pranger already had two 1-2 finishes at World Cup slaloms earlier this month in Switzerland, with Herbst winning in Adelboden and Pranger in Wengen.

“I finally fulfilled my dream — winning a race in Austria,” said Herbst, who skied in front of a home crowd of 50,000. “This is the most beautiful win of my career.”

Kostelic leads the overall standings with 735 points, 75 more than Benjamin Raich of Austria, who went out in his second run. Jean-Baptiste Grange of France is third with 656. Grange didn’t finish either but stayed atop the slalom standings.

Defending champion and world slalom champion Mario Matt of Austria also did not finish the final run.

Julien Lizeroux of France, who won Sunday in Kitzbuehel, Austria, for his first World Cup title, finished the opening leg in 23rd but was later disqualified for missing a gate early in his run.