Miller wins first slalom in two years

15/02/2004 13:45 ST. ANTON, Austria (AP) _ American Bode Miller won his first World Cup slalom in two years Sunday to climb into third place of the overall standings. Miller, who held a comfortable lead after the opening leg, covered the sun-drenched Sonnenwiese course in a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 34.60 seconds, a whopping 0.95 seconds ahead of Finland's Kalle Palander. Miller stood motionless for several moments after seeing his name light the top spot of the scoreboard, then lightly punched his fists and poles into the air while "Born in the U.S.A." blared over the wild cheers of some 20,000 Austrian fans, delighted to see him win. Palander, the defending World Cup discipline champion and the winner of three slaloms this season, finished in 1:35.55. Austria's Mario Matt crossed third in 1:35.69, moving up from 18th after the first run. Arriving in St. Anton, Miller had two podium finishes in the slalom this season but his last victory dates back to January, 2002, in Schladming, Austria. He failed to score points in four slaloms this season. The 26-year-old American has also won two giant slalom races this year. With the victory, Miller climbed into third spot of the overall standings with 984 points, just one behind Austrian technical specialist Benjamin Raich. Hermann Maier leads the table with 1,054 points. Raich lost a chance to reclaim the lead from Maier when he straddled on the lower part of the course in the opening leg. Miller, one of the circuit's rare all-rounders who skis in all four disciplines, had entered the season targeting the overall title. He lost the overall cyrstal globe last year to Stephan Eberharter by 233 points, his energy flagging at season's end.

Maier leads Austrian sweep of podium

14/02/2004 13:30 ST. ANTON, Austria (AP) _ Embattled Austrian Hermann Maier climbed into third place of the all-time World Cup victories list Saturday, winning a downhill for his 46th career win. The victory also put him back in the lead of the overall World Cup standings. Just five months after returning to the circuit full-time following a horrific motorcycle accident, Maier covered the sun-drenched Karl Schranz course in 1 minute, 56.09 seconds to clinch his fourth win of the year. Maier also won a downhill in Beaver Creek as well as a pair of super-G races this season. The victory left him tied for third place with Marc Girardelli in the all-time World Cup victories table. Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark tops the list with 86 wins. Alberto Tomba of Italy has 50. "It's a big honor to be the leader of Austrian champions. It's a great joy to be at the top of the list of World Cup leaders with only Tomba and Stenmark ahead of me," Maier said. "Although, I really consider this my 47th win because of the victory that was taken away from me in Val d'Isere," he added, referring back to 1997 in Val d'Isere, France, where he had his giant slalom victory revoked after stepping out of his skis and flashing his sponsor's name to television cameras before crossing the red line in the finish area. "I hope to keep on winning more for the rest of my career." Maier led an Austrian sweep of the podium. Teammate Stephan Eberharter was second in 1:56.41, consolidating his lead atop the downhill World Cup standings. Johann Grugger was third in 1:56.46 for his first podium finish. Seven Austrians finished in the top 10. With the victory, Maier overtook teammate Benjamin Raich at the top of the overall standings with 1,054 points. Raich, a technical specialist who did not race Saturday, dropped to second with 985. Eberharter sat third on 961. American Bode Miller, who finished a strong eighth, was fourth with 884. Maier has already captured the World Cup super-G title. The Austrian had earned four super-G, three giant slalom and two downhill World Cup titles as well as three overall crowns before a motorcycle accident in August 2001 nearly cost him his right leg. He returned to race in a handful of races late last season. "I never thought at the beginning of the season I would do so well," Maier said. "But now that I'm here I want to defend my chances. I have my chance, I'm going for it. "I am really satisfied, I took a lot of risk, much more than in the other downhills this season. I have more confidence now. I am skiing more aggressively." Eberharter's result virtually secured him a third consecutive World Cup downhill title. He holds a 163-point advantage over Maier in the discipline rankings with only two races remaining. Eberharter has 671 points, while Maier has 508. A victory is worth 100 points. "Another one for me," Eberharter said. "It was my main goal this season. It looks good for me. I feel confident to make this globe. I just need to stay concentrated on the next two downhills." Daron Rahlves finished 11th, leaving him only with a tiniest mathematical chance at the downhill title. The American can only win the title if he wins the two remaining downhills and Eberharter fails to score points in either of them. "I don't know what happened," Rahlves said. "I felt good coming down. "I pretty much had to win this race if I wanted to have a chance for this title at the end of the season. But Hermann and Steph put down some good races today."

Next Races

21.02.2004 Are (SWE) SG
22.02.2004 Are (SWE) GS
28.02.2004 Kranjska Gora (SLO) GS
28.02.2004 Levi (FIN) SL
29.02.2004 Kranjska Gora (SLO) SL
29.02.2004 Levi (FIN) SL
 
 
General Standing
 
World cup Leader

Maier Hermann
07.12.1972 (Flachau)
Ski: Atomic

  Maier Hermann  1054
  Raich Benjamin  985
  Miller Bode  983
  Eberharter Stefan  959
  Kjus Lasse  824
  Palander Kalle  806
  Rahlves Daron  720
  Walchhofer Michael  693
  Knauss Hans  669
  Schifferer Andreas  584
  
World cup Leader

Paerson Anja
25.04.1981 (Tarnaby)
Ski: Salomon
 
  Paerson Anja  1220
  Gotschl Renate  1108
  Gerg Hilde  870
  Montillet Carole  853
  Dorfmeister Michaela  806
  Riesch Maria  618
  Meissnitzer Alexandra  609
  Ertl Martina  606
  Hosp Nicole  566
  Clark Kirsten  456