Austrian great Hermann Maier tied Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg for third place alltime in World Cup victories and reclaimed the World Cup points lead Saturday with the 46th win of his career in a sun-splashed downhill before thousands of wildly cheering fans. Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) was eighth and Daron Rahlves (Sugar Bowl, CA) 11th.

Maier, who trails only Swedish icon Ingemar Stenmark (86) and Alberto Tomba of Italy (50), led Austrians into the top four places. His winning time was 1:56.09 with Stephan Eberharter, nearing his third consecutive World Cup DH title, in second place (1:56.41).

Crash and injury didn't slow Miller
Miller - on the hill where he tore knee ligaments in the downhill for the combined event at the 2001 Worlds - nailed the bottom of the run and finished in 1:56.89. When the prize-giving was concluded after the race, Miller and Maier sat on the finish line stage, accepting congratulations and casually sharing some champagne. Rahlves' time was 1:56.96 while Bryon Friedman (Park City, UT) was 21st with Jake Fiala (Frisco, CO) just out of the points in 31st place.

Miller, the giant slalom world champion (and Olympic GS silver medalist), said his technical skiing background was a plus on St. Anton's Karl Schranz course.

"I made some mistakes in bad spots but I made some really good turns, too," Miller said. "This is a course, I think, potentially that could be really good for. It turns a lot of the way down and a couple of real crucial turns lead onto flatter sections, so if I held those turns I carry more speed into the flats and that could make a difference..."

Visibly weary at the end of the run, he said his "fatigue factor is high" although he expected that from his training run Friday. It caught him over the final 15 seconds or so "and I had to make a couple of little bobbles. Coming into the finish line the speed's so high, I'd gone to a low position and almost went down...

GS training boosts Miller's run
"I think the bottom is good for me, some big swinging turns and you've got to make a really aggressive transition, get to the front of your skis," Miller said. His GS training helped him with his balance in the dicey terrain.

At the same time, the Carrabassett Valley Academy product said the softer conditions reduced some of his advantage. "If it's really icy on this hill, I think I have a good chance of winning or being right there, but the way it is today you really have to be gentle ... on a lot of those big, hard, swinging turns going into the flat sections I'm hard on my edges, so even though it's clean you still dig in a little bit more."

Miller said his top-10 was pleasing because it enabled him to gain some valuable points as he tries to keep pace with the Austrians filling the top three spots in the overall standings.

"You've got to give Maier credit; he's an amazing individual...and Bode skied a fantastic race," said U.S. Head Coach Phil McNichol. "He was really strong on the bottom, showing what he really can do in downhill. And Daron's run is just one of those mysteries of downhill - you think you're executing well but all these miniscule mistakes add up to lost time. When it's not bulletproof, you have to have everything - your equipment, your line, your suit, your focus, just everything - in order...

"It was such a beautiful day - blue sky, big sun, I thought I could fry an egg on my shoulder. Today was definitely a cooker but the track held up fantastically...spring-like conditions. I'm really impressed with what the organizers did," he said.

Eberharter close to DH title
Maier moved past Rahlves in the DH points; with two downhills left, Eberharter has 671 points to 508 for Maier, 477 for Rahlves. St. Anton, one of the most renowned alpine villages, hosted the 2001 World Championships where Rahlves won the super G gold medal (with Eberharter taking silver and Maier bronze) but this is only the third World Cup race weekend since the 1988 season, the first since 2000 and the pre-Worlds races.

"I felt I had a really good run," said Rahlves, "but when I got to the finish I was surprised. I thought I'd be in there. I must've been losing time all the way down. This is a race I really needed today but I congratulate Hermann and Stephan on great races."

MEN'S ALPINE WORLD CUP
Men's Downhill

1. Hermann Maier, Austria, 1:56.09
2. Stephan Eberharter, Austria, 1:56.41
3. Johann Grugger, Austria, 1:56.46
4T. Klaus Kroell, Austria, 1:56.80
4T. Bjarne Solbakken, Norway, 1:56.80

8. Bode Miller, Franconia, N.H., 1:56.89
10. Daron Rahlves, Sugar Bowl, Calif., 1:56.96
21. Bryon Friedman, Park City, Utah, 1:58.02
31. Jake Fiala, Frisco, Colo., 1:59.42

— Courtesy of US Ski Team