Reigning giant slalom world champion Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) made his head coach look like a prophet - and lived up to the media's billing as pre-race favorite - as he produced the fastest time on both runs Sunday, capturing the opening men's World Cup race of the season by more than a second on an icy course set on the Rettenbach Glacier. No other U.S. skier made the second run.

His win marked the first time a U.S. skier won the opening race of the season, whether early-early season or the old end-of-November start dates. (When Julie Parisien won the SL at Park City in November 1993, it was the third race of the winter.)

Miller, who turned 26 two weeks ago, started seventh in the first run. He held a lead of nine-hundredths of a second over Frenchman Fredric Covili going into the final run - and he tore through the sun-bathed second course, which organizers iced after clearing a late-week storm that dumped about eight inches on the glacier. His winning time was 2:09.58.

"I didn't really ski my best the first run," Miller said, "so to have the lead really gave me confidence. I was taking some risk in the second run, but I knew I had to. I felt really comfortable and when I crossed the finish line I knew I had won."

It's important, however, to keep things in perspective, Miller cautioned. "It's tough to talk about the overall after just one race. It's my goal but it's still a long way away...

"In the second run I was a lot more used to the snow. The first was the first time I really had taken a run on that snow. At least after that I had a little bit of knowledge and was able to change my tactics a bit," he explained. "There was plenty of opportunity in each run for things to go differently. But I had great preparation from our Team and today it really worked for me...

MILLER SURVIVES "NERVE-WRACKING" COURSE SET
"The first course was nothing like I've ever seen before. And especially with the snow conditions the way they were. If it had been softer it would have been a lot easier. But you were going down the hill so directly and the speeds were so high, but the snow was also a little grippy. But you can't just slide into the turn to control your speed because your ski would catch. I like this kind of course, personally. It was so nerve-wracking how it was set, especially with it being the first race of the season."

Men's Head Coach Phil McNichol all but called the final run. After the morning run, and the frustrating U.S. showing except for Miller, McNichol said, "The first run was really open and fast, especially fast on the pitch, and the guys just over-adjusted for it.

"The second run course is tight and turny - perfect for Bode.

Men's SL/GS Head Coach Mike Morin added, "Coming out of a delay at the bottom of the steep pitch there were six gates where we felt the race would be won or lost. He had lost some time on the pitch, but was absolutely perfect through that section. He skis that better than anyone.

"Through the first five gates in that section he skied perfectly to plan, then went really direct on the last gate which no one else could do. It's where he won the race," Morin said.

The victory is the seventh of Miller's career, in addition to his dramatic wins in giant slalom and combined at the 2003 World Championships. His last World Cup win came Jan. 6 in a GS in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. Miller, a Carrabassett Valley Academy (and Franconia Ski Club) product who's in his eighth season on the U.S. Ski Team, has won four World Cup giant slaloms, three slaloms.

Covili's time was 2:10.70 with Joel Chenal, also from France, third (2:10.76). Austrian Stephan Eberharter, the defending overall World Cup champ who had won on the Rettenbach the last two seasons, was eighth.

Daron Rahlves (Sugar Bowl, CA), who battled a cold during the week, missed the top-30 cut for the second run by .03. Erik Schlopy (Park City, UT), bronze medalist behind Miller at the 2003 World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, saw one ski delaminate early in his run and was unable to finish.

MIXED EMOTIONS FOR HEAD COACH
"We let some of the hounds out today - but we had six guys watching that second run, and that's unacceptable. We can't have that," McNichol said. "It's like last year [when Miller finished fifth, the lone American to make top 30]. You're psyched for Bode but still want to put your head through the drywall.

"Bode skied that second run really well. It was an impressive display of domination in GS. The conditions were phenomenal. The snow was grippy and hard; the track held up fantastically. It was a great race - when you see guys with bib numbers in the 50s qualifying on the first run, you know it's a good course. It wasn't easy but it definitely was a fair race," the coach said.

"That first run was wide open and fast, and it seems everyone looked at it and thought, 'Oh my God, this is like a super G and is gonna be really fast.' Well, you need experience on how fast to go, how much to give...

"Schlopy had bad luck at the top but the other guys were a little too conservative, which was unfortunate. Daron was sick all week, definitely put his nose in it on the pitch but made a mistake on the flats and still just missed qualifying...but it's still unacceptable for us to have six or seven guys in a race and qualify just one."

The World Cup heads next to North America. The men start the continuous racing phase of their schedule Nov. 22-23 with another GS and a slalom at the Chevy Truck America's Opening in Park City, UT. The women, who opened their season Saturday with Germany's Martina Ertl winning a GS and Sarah Schleper (Vail, CO) finishing seventh - the best U.S. women's result since these early season races got underway in October 1993, are off until Nov. 28-29 with the second weekend of America's Opening GS/SL racing in Park City.

ALPINE WORLD CUP
Men's Giant Slalom

• Bode Miller, Franconia, NH, 2:09.58
• Frederic Covili, France, 2:10.70
• Joel Chenal, France, 2:10.76

Did not qualify for 2nd run: Daron Rahlves, Sugar Bowl, CA; Dane Spencer, Boise, ID; Thomas Vonn, Newburgh, NY; T.J. Lanning, Park City, UT; Did not finish 1st run: Erik Schlopy, Park City, UT, and Jesse Marshall, Pittsfield, VT

— Courtesy of US Ski Team