American Benjamin Ritchie clinched the slalom gold medal in Bansko ©Getty Images

American Benjamin Ritchie clinched the slalom gold medal as men's events at the Alpine Junior World Ski Championships drew to a close in Bansko.

Ritchie secured the junior world title after clocking a combined time of 1min 40.36sec at the Bulgarian venue.

The United States skier, 13th in the slalom at last month's senior World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, finished a commanding 0.48sec clear of Switzerland's Fadri Janutin in second place.

Janutin took silver in 1:40.84, with bronze going to Austria's Joshua Sturm in 1:41.06.

The American produced to superb runs to seal the junior world title ©Getty Images
The American produced to superb runs to seal the junior world title ©Getty Images

Lukas Feurstein of Austria, winner of the giant slalom yesterday, could only manage sixth, while super-G champion Giovanni Franzoni failed to finish the first run.

The slalom was the last men's race of the Championships under coronavirus protocols in place for the event at Pririn Mountain, the first Alpine skiing competition of this level to be hosted in Bulgaria.

A two-day break follows before the start of women's events on Monday (March 8).

The Championships are due to conclude on Wednesday (March 10).