. world ski news : Wengen - 16 January 2005 - 23:50
Alpine ski World Cup
Vogl wins slalom; Miller out
WENGEN,( 16/01/2005 14:02 )Switzerland (AP) _ Alois Vogl won a slalom on the famed Lauberhorn course Sunday, giving the German men's team its first World Cup victory in 12 years. Vogl, fourth after the first leg, posted a flawless second run to clinch his first win after more than a decade on the circuit in a combined time of 1 minute, 35.38 seconds. Croatia's Ivica Kostelic was second in 1:35.59, and Benjamin Raich of Austria finished third in 1:35.84. Overall World Cup leader Bode Miller of the United States and Finnish slalom specialist Kalle Palander both skied out in the second leg.
Walchhofer wins Lauberhorn downhill; Miller third
WENGEN,( 15/01/2005 18:56 )Switzerland (AP) _ Michael Walchhofer led Austria to a 1-2 finish in a World Cup downhill Saturday on the famed Lauberhorn, the longest course on the circuit. Walchhofer negotiated the wide variety of features and challenges on the 4.5-kilometer course in 2 minutes, 27.05 seconds, 0.09 ahead of teammate Christoph Gruber. It was the first downhill victory of the season for the reigning world champion in the discpiline. "I have patience," said Walchhofer, who climbed the podium in six of seven downhills this season. "But I knew I was in great shape and it was only a question of time before I won a downhill.
"I was given a book on the anniversary of the Lauberhorn. it's such a great race and I thought this would be a great place to start winning. And I made it a goal of mine. There is a lot of emotion now that I have won." Bode Miller managed a third-place finish despite skipping the morning inspection run, preventing an Austrian sweep of the top-four places when he crossed 0.18 behind the winner. "I slept until 9:00, read my book (The Kite Runner), had some food," said Miller, who was forced to leave his RV below in Lauterbrunen and stay in the team hotel, as the car-free resort Wengen is only reachable by cog-rail.
"Sometimes two or three inspections really helps to get your reference points. But here it's the flow that really counts. And if you inspect it slowly right before the race, you don't get the feel of the course flow." The American stretched his lead in the overall World Cup standings to 258 points. Second-place Benjamin Raich of Austria gained 100 points on Miller after winning Friday's super-combined race, but didn't start Saturday. Miller has 1,048 points after 21 events, raich 790 and third-place Walchhofer 641. Defending overall World Cup champion Hermann Maier finished fourth in 2:27.67, and for the first time in a downhill this season was smiling at the finish. The 'Herminator' has struggled with equipment this season, after switching boot brands in order to improve his giant slalom skiing. As a result, however, his performances in the speed disciplines have suffered.
Another Austrian, Werner Franz, finished fifth, 0.72 off the pace. Walchhofer, the defending downhill world champion , took the lead in the discipline standings with 431 points after seven events. Miller is second with 378. The Lauberhorn, celebrating its 75th anniversary, is the longest-running Alpine ski event organized at one resort. Its status as a classic has allowed it to preserve old-fashioned features such as the "Hundschopf" (Dog rock) turn _ a three-meter wide corridor between two rock faces _ and the "Wasserstation" (water station) tunnel where skiers duck under the Jungfrau region's famed cog railway.
A wildly varying course, it also boasts both the fastest and slowest passages on the men's tour, with the straight Hannegg section pushing racers to speeds of up to 150 kph (94 mph) and the Brueggli corner forcing them to slam on the brakes to slow to 70 kph (44 mph). Germany's Max Rauffer hit 154 kph (96.25 mph) in training Wednesday. Skiers arrive at the final "S" turn just before the finish _ a spectacularly difficult set of sharp curves _ with burning, having skied intensely for over two and a half minutes. "People talk about how you have no oxygen in your legs at the finish," Miller said. "Forget that. You have no oxygen in your brain.
Raich wins super-combined World Cup race
WENGEN,( 14/01/2005 15:26 ) Switzerland (AP) _ Austrian Benjamin Raich won a super-combined race Friday to significantly close the gap on overall World Cup leader Bode Miller. Raich posted the fastest time in the opening slalom portion and held on to his lead after the afternoon downhill, finishing in an aggregate time of 2 minutes, 28.37 seconds and gaining 100 points over the American, who went out in the slalom leg. Norwegian veteran Lasse Kjus, the winner of the combined here in 1999, was runnerup, .32 seconds behind. Swiss Didier Defago finished third, 1.40 back.
Miller, one of the favorites entering the redesigned competition, straddled a double gate midway down his slalom run and was disqualified. The American has only finished one slalom this season, the night race he won in Sestriere, Italy, in December. Since then, he crashed out after setting a best intermediate time in the first run in Flachau and in Chamonix he went out after catching a ski on a tight gate. Miller still leads the overall standings with 988 points, 198 ahead of Raich. Reigning World Cup overall champion Hermann Maier of Austria, looking unfamiliar in a pom pom tuque, was 15th after the slalom, then switched to his trademark yellow helmet for the downhill run and climbed to ninth in 2:31.65.
"My slalom skis felt like ice skates," Maier said. "It was very difficult to adapt to the carving skis after such a long time. I wasn't able to crank it up in the downhill. I realized it wasn't going to be a podium performance today." The super-combined race is composed of one slalom leg followed by a downhill a few hours later. Previously, the combined event added the times from the weekend's downhill to those of the weekend's slalom. The combination is an oft-overlooked event, but a true test of a skier's speed and technical abilities. The event was reformatted because with two slalom legs to negotiate, slalom skiers used to have a definite advantage.
Bode Miller seeks first classic downhill win
WENGEN,( 13/01/2005 16:32 )Switzerland (AP) _ After making history by winning all four Alpine skiing disciplines in just 16 days, Bode Miller is looking to capture his first downhill classic when the World Cup circuit moves to the famed Lauberhorn course this weekend. Lauberhorn, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, is the longest course on the tour and one of its five 'classic' events that also include Val d'Isere, France; Kitzbuehel, Austria; Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany; and Val Gardena, Italy. "It's a total classic," said Miller, winner of the season's opening downhills in Lake Louise and Beaver Creek.
"Physically it's really demanding and it's got a lot of stuff to it _ some cranking technical sections and some long gliding sections. It's one of those races where you need to bring everything together if you're going to win." A win would also make Miller the first American in a decade to win on the hallowed course. Kyle Rasmussen was the last U.S. skier to triumph here. Competition begins Friday with the inaugural "super combination race," which adds the times from a single slalom leg in the morning to a shortened downhill run a few hours later. In previous years, the combined would add the weekend's downhill and slalom times.
The weekend's main feature _ the Lauberhorn downhill _ is scheduled in its traditional slot Saturday, followed by the slalom Sunday. With 300 points and plenty of prestige at stake, Miller, the runaway World Cup leader, will face stiff competition from Austrians Michael Walchhofer, Johann Grugger and Werner Franz, as well as from teammate Daron Rahlves, who's hoping to recover from his ugly crash in Tuesday's giant slalom in Adelboden. Local favorite Bruno Kernen, the winner of the last downhill here in 2003 _ last year's race was wiped out by poor weather _ will attempt to keep the title in Swiss hands. Austrian Benjamin Raich, sitting 298 points behind Miller in the overall standings, will have a chance to close the gap in Sunday's slalom. Raich won the gate event here last season and in 1999 and 2001. Though the world's oldest ski races are in Arlberg-Kandahar, Austria, the Lauberhorn weekend is the longest-running Alpine ski event organized at the same resort. A stunning 4,455-meter (2.8-mile) course, Lauberhorn is also one of the most physically demanding slopes.
Its status as a classic has allowed it to preserve old-fashioned features such as the "Hundschopf" (Dog rock) turn _ a three-meter wide corridor between two rock faces _ and the "Wasserstation" (water station) tunnel where skiers duck under the Jungfrau region's famed cog railway. "Like all good ideas, I think the concept of the Lauberhorn was probably first formed at two o'clock in the morning in some local pub," organizing committee president Viktor Gertsch once said. A wildly varying course, it boasts both the fastest and slowest passages on the men's tour, with the straight Hannegg section pushing racers to speeds of up to 150 kph (94 mph) and the Brueggli corner forcing them to slam on the brakes to slow to 70 kph (44 mph). Germany's Max Rauffer hit 154 kph (96.25 mph) in training Wednesday. Skiers arrive with burning legs at the finish, having skied intensely for over two and a half minutes.
The final "S" turn just before the finish line, a spectacularly difficult set of sharp curves, has been the site of gruesome accidents over the years. In 1991, Austrian rookie Gernot Reinstadler died from massive internal injuries after crashing there. Frenchman Adrien Duvillard suffered a serious head trauma in 1997 after hitting the fencing there at over 90 kph (55 mph). Once protected by four kilometers of safety netting, the course is now lined with 13 kilometers of fencing in several layers.
General Standing
World cup Leader
Miller Bode
12.10.1977 (Franconia)
Ski: Atomic
Miller Bode 1048
Raich Benjamin 850
Walchhofer Michael 641
Maier Hermann 595
Rahlves Daron 436
Kjus Lasse 425
Cuche Didier 395
Grugger Johann 386
Palander Kalle 366
Grandi Thomas 344
Next Races
20.01.2005 Zagreb (CRO) NSL
21.01.2005 Kitzbühel (AUT) SG
22.01.2005 Kitzbühel (AUT) DH
22.01.2005 Maribor (SLO) GS
23.01.2005 Kitzbühel (AUT) SL
23.01.2005 Kitzbühel (AUT) K
23.01.2005 Maribor (SLO) SL