One day after a stirring victory, Daron Rahlves (Sugar Bowl, CA) couldn't overcome gusting winds at the start but still tore down Birds of Prey's icy speed run Saturday to break up an Austrian stranglehold on the top spots, finishing fourth.

Hermann Maier earned the 44th victory of his storied career, leading seven Austrians into the top 10. Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) missed a gate while Bryon Friedman (Park City, UT) scored points for the second day in a row, finishing 24th.

Maier, who won a super G last Sunday at Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies, finished in 1:39.76 with Hans Knauss second, nearly a second back in 1:40.71 and Andreas Schifferer third before Rahlves broke the string of Austrians. His time was 1:41.01 in the 30-degree weather.

Rahlves: "Mother Nature rules"
Friedman, who scored his first World Cup points Friday as he finished 23rd in a downhill moved from Val d'Isere, France, because of poor snow conditions, was 24th in 1:42.63 while Scott Macartney (Redmond, WA) just missed the top 30, finishing 32nd for the second straight DH. Miller missed a gate midway through his run, not finishing for the second straight race.

"The wind picked up two guys before me," said Rahlves, who started 29th. "It hit [defending World Cup champion Stephan] Eberharter and [Michael] Walchhofer, too." Walchhofer was sixth and Eberharter 12th.

"I got a little unlucky with the conditions," Rahlves explained. "It started gusting up real strong. Hey, Mother Nature rules."

He laid down a strong, he felt, and was surprised to see he was only fourth. "I skied well and did some things I wanted to do," he said.

Coach: "We'll still take a top-5"
"Another win would have been nice - and I'm extremely greedy that way,' said U.S. Head Coach Phil McNichol, "but it wasn't to be. 'D' made a big mistake on the pitch, so we'll still take a top-5. And Friedman had another fantastic race; he's done a great job here and we'll keep him on the World Cup with us. Scotty Mac just missed again, but he's got another chance [Sunday], and if he scores, he'll stay on the World Cup, too.

"And Bode? I don't know. He's just having some bad luck. It's just bad luck, but he'll rebound."

The men run super G Sunday to complete the Chevy Trucks races. The U.S. will have seven skiers - Rahlves, Miller, Friedman and Macartney - the defending Nor Am super G champion - plus Dane Spencer (Boise, ID), Jake Fiala (Frisco, CO) and Thomas Vonn (Newburgh, NY).

FIS ALPINE WORLD CUP
Men's Downhill-2

1. Hermann Maier, Austria, 1:39.76
2. Hans Knauss, Austria, 1:40.71
3. Andreas Schifferer, Austria, 1:40.95

U.S. skiers

4. Daron Rahlves, Sugar Bowl, Calif., 1:41.01
24. Bryon Friedman, Park City, Utah, 1:42.63
32. Scott Macartney, Redmond, Wash., 1:43.05
40. Jake Fiala, Frisco, Colo., 1:43.43
42. Wade Bishop, Winter Park, Colo., 1:43.52
53. Kevin Francis, Bend, Ore., 1:45.60

DNF: Bode Miller, Franconia, N.H.

WORLD CUP STANDINGS (7 races)

1. Maier, 325 points
2. Michael Walchhofer, Austria, 279
3. Schifferer, 239
4. Knauss, 228
5. Miller, 213

7. Rahlves, 189

48T. Tom Rothrock, Cashmere, Wash., 29
55T. Dane Spencer, Boise, Idaho, 20
61T. Friedman, 15
65. Chip Knight, Stowe, Vt., 14
88T. Fiala, 2

— Courtesy of US Ski Team