Stephan Eberharter just keeps winning. The Austrian superstar posted his fourth win in five World Cup races so far this season, taking the downhill at the Chevy Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Eberharter's winning time was 1:40:18. It was his 20th World Cup victory.

The United States posted a very strong showing in the event, putting three team members in the top 10. Daron Rahlves made it to the podium with a 3rd place finish, in a time of 1:40:56. Teammates Marco Sullivan and Bode Miller finished 6th and 8th, respectively. It was the first time the U.S. put three racers in the top 10 in 30 years.

Michael Walchhofer of Austria was second, Fritz Strobl of Austria was fourth and Didier Cuche of France rounded out the top 5. Sullivan's 6th place finish was easily the best of his young career, and the American team has high hopes for its performance over the remainder of this season.

"What impresses me is how strong Eberharter is skiing. Every race, he comes up with a great day." — Daron Rahlves, on Stephan Eberharter

Rahlves, bumped back to the No. 37 start slot after being disqualified Friday for using an illegal knee support, said he decided to ignore the frustrations and disappointments of the early season and just have some fun on the big hill. He finished in 1:40.56 with Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley, CA) sixth in 1:40.98 and Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) making it three straight speed-event top-10s as he was eighth.

"Every single day," Rahlves said, I'm getting better. I now have my Langes [boots] dialed-in. The first day before training here I felt some great feelings I hadn't felt in over a month. When you're feeling good, you have confidence. I made some mistakes today, but my confidence carried me."

He saluted Eberharter's performance, noting, "What impresses me is how strong Eberharter is skiing. Every race, he comes up with a great day. It's good," according to Rahlves, "because there's really someone to work hard for and chase and knock down, but it's going to be tough.

"But I've made a HUGE step in just one week."

Reflecting on the confusing post-training run disqualification of Rahlves, Norwegian ace Kjetil Andre Aamodt and several other Friday, the Californian said, "Yesterday it was like there's a new rule every day. I've taken the brunt of it. I got disqualified because I had a little bib modification, then I missed my bib draw in Lake Louise and got bumped back, then I went out the next day kind of angry. …Today, I was just like, 'hey, it didn't work in the past so let's go out there today and do what I can.'

"The great thing," Rahlves said, "is that here at Beaver Creek on the Birds of Prey the snow is SO good, it was just as good starting 37th as it would have been earlier."

The three-in-the-top-10 is the first since Mike Lafferty, Eric Poulsen and Dave Currier at Kitzbuehel in 1972. The last time two American men finished in the top 10 was 1984 when newly crown Olympic DH champion Bill Johnson won and Doug Lewis was eighth in Whistler, B.C. While AJ Kitt, Tommy Moe and Kyle Rasmussen, Rahlves and Chad Fleischer (Vail, CO) have had outstanding results, somehow none of them have finished together in a top 10, according to a Ski Team check of race results.

"I wanted to do it in front of the U.S. crowd. Americans have never stepped up here and today was a big showing for all of us." — Daron Rahlves

"I wanted to do it in front of the U.S. crowd," Rahlves said. "Americans have never stepped up here and today was a big showing for all of us. A couple years ago when Bode won in Val d'Isere [sic] that kind of got me going and I wanted to step up and be right in there. [Eric] Schlopy did really well, then I went into Kitzbuhel and got a third and a fourth, then in the [2001] Worlds I won. Now in the downhill, things are really going.

"Bode started out the season and got things going, and it's great for me to step up today and have the best result of our team this year. It's so early and there's going to be a lot more results for all of us. I'm fired up for Marco, being from Tahoe and a good buddy of mine. Tahoe's really going to be going off tonight, I can tell you that…

"My goal right now is to just get better every day."

Sullivan, noting his parents were in the bleachers at the bottom of the course, said starting seventh gave him confidence to attack all the way. "I've never started that high in a World Cup before," he said. "I knew the course was going to be smooth and I just wanted to give it my all in my home country and give the fans a show.

"I wasn't that nervous -- I got a good eight hours of sleep and was just ready to race today, it was good. …I'm skiing well and I'm confident. I'm ready to go to Europe and get some good results. We're going to have a good group. We're all skiing fast, we get along well and hopefully we can get some good results…

"The first couple of downhills this season Bode and I have been battling in the training runs. And he got me in Lake Louise, and I edged him here, so we have a good rivalry going," Sullivan said.

Miller, who was seventh in both the DH and super G last weekend at Lake Louise, said, "I felt smoother on the pitch -- I didn't make the same mistakes I made [in Friday's final training run]. What it takes now is to just not to make the little mistakes. There's no question I can turn with the best of them and my skis are fast."

For DH/SG Head Coach John (John-o) McBride, there were plenty of smiles.

"This is outstanding. I've never been involved in anything like this as long as I've been with the team. I'm excited, I'm elated. We're jumping up and down on the side of the hill, we're hugging each other, we're fired up!

"I wouldn't say I'm surprised, and I wouldn't say I expected it. But I think it's well within our limits to do what we did today. We surpassed my expectations, especially after Lake Louise, and the guys proved it today when it counted," McBride said.

— Courtesy U.S. Ski Team with additional material from MountainZone.com Staff