Bode Miller (Franconia, NH), skiing with controlled aggression in a snowstorm, collected his second combined victory of the season Sunday - and the 10th win of his career - as he finished fourth in a slalom concluding the 64th Hahnenkamm race weekend. Tom Rothrock (Cashmere, WA) equaled the best result of his career in ninth place and Chip Knight (Stowe, VT) was 26th.

It was the second win in four days of racing in Kitzbuehel for the U.S. Ski Team on the weekend, the fourth podium following the triple top-3 showing by Daron Rahlves (Sugar Bowl, CA) who won Friday's super G, was third in a DH Thursday and second Saturday in the 64th Hahnenkamm downhill.

The combined victory vaulted Miller into fourth in the overall points race - "Any one of seven or eight guys still could win the overall," Miller said - behind Lasse Kjus of Norway, who won Thursday's downhill. It also is the first U.S. victory in combined in Kitzbuehel since 1983 when Phil Mahre won (Bobby Cochran also won combined - in 1973).

Kalle Palander of Finland gained his fourth win of the season, his third in slalom, in 1:30.63, edging Canadian Thomas Grandi, the first-run leader, who finished in 1:30.71 on the hard, injected snow. Rainer Schoenfelder of Austria was third and Miller - eighth in the snowy first run - finished fourth with a time of 1:31.81.

In the combined, he topped Austrian Beni Raich, who tied for sixth in the slalom, with Kjus finishing third but holding onto his points lead. He has 824 to 818 for Raich. Miller, who received 150 points on the day - 100 for the combined victory, 50 for fourth place in SL - has 701 points after 24 races.

Earlier this month, Miller won the combined in Chamonix, France. The Kitz combined blended results from Thursday's downhill and Sunday's slalom; organizers, concerned about losing the Hahnenkamm DH Saturday, announced before Thursday's race that would be the designated downhill.

Boy scout, slalom racer motto: Be Prepared
It snowed throughout the first run, stopped and then resumed midway through the second run...before Miller's final run.

"You've got to be ready to race, especially in slalom. We race in anything," Miller said. "In the start gate, some of those snowflakes were the size of this cup. You get two or three of those stick to your goggles and...you've got to be ready to race. I've know that since I was al little kid...

"You want to be prepared. You figure out 'How am I gonna get my best result?'"

Miller, a Carrabassett Valley Academy product, has won 10 World Cup races - second only among U.S. men to Phil Mahre - with five in giant slalom, three in SL, two in combined.

"I'm really happy the way I've come out of this series," he said, adding his preseason routine included special attention to the multi-day race series which occur more frequently during the season. In Winter Õ03, Miller was the lone racer - male or female - who skied in every World Cup rave.

Three top-10s in Kitz for Miller
"I'm happy. I skied well all weekend. I messed up on the bottom of the first downhill and the top of the second downhill. In the super G, I skied okay but I'm three times in the top 10 out of four races [and the combined]. That was excellent for me," he told the post-race press conference.

"Bode skied with such confidence. It was pretty exciting," said SL/GS Head Coach Mike Morin. "He and Daron are such point-making machines...

"Bode was fully in control. On the second run, about three-quarters of the way down," the coach said, "he dropped the hammer and really took it in. He made one of the sweetest moves over a difficult roll about halfway down and that was it. It gave him the confidence to really let it rip."

Raich, bidding for the World Cup overall title, didn't ski conservatively to preserve his combined points, Morin said. "He was pounding it all the way."

Coach: Watch for Rothrock Tuesday night
The top-10 for Rothrock "could be just what he needs to do well Tuesday night in Schladming," Morin said. "He's been skiing so well in new boots and I'd look for him to do some damage in that night race."

Knight went down on a hip at the top of his second run and stopped completely, then got up and finished his run "so we're pleased to get some points out of it. He could do well, too, in that night race."

At the end of the race, the U.S. and Canadian tech teams gathered for a quick Team North America photo. In addition to Grandi's historic second, Julien Cousineau was 20th. "It was a great day for North America," Morin said. "Terific result for Thomas. We're very happy for him."

The men compete Tuesday in the annual night slalom in Schladming, then move to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, for two downhills and a super G.

MEN'S ALPINE WORLD CUP
64th Hahnenkamm
Men's Slalom

1. Kalle Palander, Finland, 1:30.63
2. Thomas Grandi, Canada, 1:30.71
3. Rainer Schoenfelder, Austria, 1:31.69
4. Bode Miller, Franconia, N.H., 1:31.81
5. Silvan Zurbriggen, Switzerland, 1:31.83

9. Tom Rothrock, Cashmere, Wash., 1:32.15
26. Chip Knight, Stowe, Vt., 1:33.77

Did not qualify: Jesse Marshall, Pittsfield, Vt.
DNF-1: Jimmy Cochran, Keene, N.H.; Jake Zamansky, Aspen, Colo.

Combined (Thursday DH/Sunday SL)

1. Bode Miller
2. Benjamin Raich, Austria
3. Lasse Kjus, Norway

— Courtesy of US Ski Team