PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) - American Bode Miller continued his winning ways with victory in an Alpine ski World Cup giant slalom on Saturday. Miller, world champion in the discipline, collected his second win in as many races this season, beating two Austrians to the top of the podium.

Bode Miller

Olympic super-G bronze medallist Andreas Schifferer was second, 0.86 seconds behind Miller's time of two minutes 20.84 seconds, while first-leg leader Hans Knauss took third place.

Andreas Schifferer

Former double Olympic champion Hermann Maier, back in full action after the motorcycle accident which nearly cost him his right leg two years ago, was seventh, 1.38 seconds off the pace.

His Austrian team mate Stephan Eberharter, the overall World Cup champion and Olympic gold medallist in giant slalom, skied out of the second leg after catching his skis in a rut.

Hermann Maier

While local fans celebrated a home victory in the first race of the season on north American snow, there was bad news too for the United States team.

Park City native Erik Schlopy, bronze medallist at the world championships in February, set the fastest time at the top of the first run but then crashed, injuring his knee.

Erik Schlopy

Doctors said he had torn a cruciate ligament and was likely to need surgery.

The 26-year-old Miller, who won the season-opening giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, last month, was 0.11 seconds behind Knauss after the first leg.

Miller, who has his sights set on becoming the first American in 21 years to win the overall World Cup, produced a typically storming second run to snatch the victory.

Hans Knauss

"I skied with lots of intensity," said Miller, who beat Knauss into second place at the world championships.

Knauss said: "I made a mistake about halfway down the course but other than that I had a good run."

Kalle Palander

Frenchman Frederic Covili, who was second in Soelden, finished fourth with Finnish slalom World Cup champion Kalle Palander fifth for the best giant slalom result of his career.

Palander will be one of the favorites for Sunday's slalom race in Park City.

Hans Knauss and Bode Miller

With last season's giant slalom World Cup champion Michael von Gruenigen having retired, the Swiss team could do no better than 15th for Tobias Gruenenfelder.

By Eric Moffitt, Reuters, 22.11.2003 

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