. world ski news : KVITFJELL downhill and supr G - 11 March 2004 - 13:58
Eberharter wins Kvitfjell, clinches downhill title, Daron Rahlves wins super-G on Olympic course
07/03/2004 12:58 Daron Rahlves wins super-G on Olympic course
KVITFJELL, Norway (AP) _ Daron Rahlves of the United States won his second World Cup super-G this season on Sunday on the Olympic hill where he broke through as a ski racer. Rahlves covered the 2,574-meter Olympiabakken course used for the 1994 Winter Olympics in 1 minute, 34.00 seconds, keying his victory with a furious finish on the lower part. "I came here with one goal _ trying to win one more race at the end of the season," Rahlves said. "This is a special place for me. My breakthrough came here in Norway. I won here for the first time in downhill. "I love the way the hill comes down. It's a challenge from top to bottom. It's fun to ski. It seems to bring my best performance out. It's the terrain and the feeling of the hill." With Sunday's win, Rahlves clinched second place behind Hermann Maier of Austria in the super-G standings. "I won my first super-G ever in the World Cup this year at Kitzbuehel (Austria) and now backed it up with a win here," Rahlves said. "That's really special for me." Maier finished third, 0.17 seconds behind Rahlves, as Austria once again showed its super-G depth with a whopping eight racers in the top 10. Bjarne Solbakken delighted the big Norwegian crowd by placing second, 0.15 off Rahlves' pace. This was Rahlves' third victory at Kvitfjell, used for the speed events in the Lillehammer Olympics 10 years ago. He won back-to-back downhills here during his breakthrough season in 2000. He now has seven career World Cup wins. Maier picked up 60 important points as he chases his fourth World Cup overall title. The Herminator leads American Bode Miller by 1,165 points to 1,098 with only one race left in each discipline _ slalom, giant slalom, super-G and downhill _ in the World Cup Finals at Sestriere, Italy, later this month. A win is worth 100 points. But Maier said it's going be tough to hold off Miller and two teammates also within striking distance. "It's not enough," Maier said of his 67-point advantage over Miller, who's trying to become the first American man to win the overall crown since Phil Mahre in 1983. "It's going to be very hard. I've never been in Sestriere. I know nothing about the downhill." Miller, a slalom and giant slalom specialist, wound up 22nd in the super-G. He was 26th in Saturday's downhill. Going into the finals, only 102 points separate the top four in the overall standings. Third-placed Stephan Eberharter, who won Saturday's downhill, has 1,083 points and fellow Austrian Benjamin Raich, who finished fourth in the super-G, has 1,063. Rahlves moved to fifth overall with 882 points.
06/03/2004 12:53 Eberharter wins Kvitfjell, clinches downhill title
KVITFJELL, Norway (AP) _ Stephan Eberharter won the penultimate World Cup downhill of the season on Lillehammer's Olympic course Saturday, clinching his third straight seasonal title in alpine skiing's toughest discipline. Eberharter sped down the 3,035-meter Olympibakken course designed by former Swiss downhill great Bernhard Russi in 1 minute, 43.41 seconds, leading an Austrian double. Fritz Strobl, often a challenger but never a downhill winner at Kvitfjell, was just four-hundredths of a second behind while Antoine Deneriaz of France took third, 0.36 off the winning pace. American Daron Rahlves, who won back-to-back downhills here during his breakthrough season four years ago, was 0.45 behind in fourth place. Hermann Maier, the former three-time overall champion from Austria, finished ninth but it was good enough to take the overall lead from Bode Miller of the United States. But it was not enough to catch Eberharter in the DH standings. The Herminator trailed Eberharter by 163 points before the race. A win is worth 100 points and only one downhill remains at the World Cup Finals in Sestriere, Italy, later this month.
06/03/2004 00:18
American Bryon Friedman tops last training ahead of Kvitfjell downhill
KVITFJELL, Norway (AP) _ Bryon Friedman of the United States clocked the fastest time Friday in the final training session for a World Cup downhill on Lillehammer's Olympic course this weekend. Friedman covered the 3,035-meter Olympiabakken course.
05/03/2004 00:34
Grugger tops penultimate training for Kvitfjell downhill
KVITFJELL, Norway (AP) _ Johann Grugger of Austria topped Thursday's training for a World Cup downhill on Lillehammer's Olympic course this weekend. Grugger sped down the 3,035-meter Olympiabakken course designed by former Swiss downhill great Bernhard Russi in 1 minute, 46.36 seconds.
02/03/2004 09:21
Austrian team boss sees Maier in position for World Cup win
VIENNA, Austria (AP) _ Hermann Maier has the best chance to win his fourth World Cup overall crown this season, Austrian ski team head Hans Pum said on Monday. After weekend races at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Bode Miller of the United States leads the overall standings with 1,084 points, followed by three Austrians: Maier on 1,076, Benjamin Raich with 999, and Stephan Eberharter on 961. But Pum believed Maier and Eberharter benefited from the failures of Miller and Raich to place in Sunday's slalom. "As neither scored any points, Maier and Stephan Eberharter are the secret winners of this weekend," Pum told Austrian television. "Hermann has clearly got the best position now. He's on pole position, so to speak." Because four of the final six races were so-called "speed events" _ two downhills and two super-Gs _ Maier and Eberharter, both specialists in these disciplines, were "likely to win the edge," Pum said. "Their experience will help them, too," he added. "Maier and Eberharter are the favorites, because they have no pressure as opposed to their younger rivals. They have already won it all, which is an enormous advantage in such tight decisions." Maier did not start in Sunday's race, and Miller failed to extend his lead by not qualifying for the top 30, while Raich fell in the second run. Pum was convinced that Raich was still suffering from his bad crash in a super-G at Garmisch. Since then he has scored only 81 points in five races. "You cannot get over a severe concussion and bruises that fast _ maybe physically, but not mentally," Pum said. Maier won the previous overall titles in 1997-98, 1999-2000 and 2000-01.