 |  |  | |
 |  | ||
 |  |  | |
 | |||
 |  |  | |||||||
| |
Bode Miller Reclaims GS Points Lead Flachau, Austria — December 21, 2004
World Cup leader Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) reclaimed the giant slalom points lead Tuesday as he finished third on a "super icy track" in a GS with Daron Rahlves (Sugar Bowl, CA) fifth as four U.S. men broke into the top 15. Dane Spencer (Boise, ID) was 12th and Erik Schlopy (Park City, UT) 13th while Canadian Thomas Grandi won his second straight GS.
"This was a great team effort," said Miller, who now leads the overall, downhill, super G and GS standings after 14 races. "We were attacking that second run. We really had a good approach."
Grandi, who won a GS Sunday in Alta Badia, Italy, was timed in an unofficial 2:15.90 with Swiss Didier Cuche, the first-run leader, finishing in 2:16.05. Miller finished in 2:17.00 and Rahlves, who bettered his previous best of eighth (Sunday in Alta Badia), came down in 2:17.40. Spencer was 12th and Schlopy finished 13th.
Injected snow, tricky conditions The course conditions caught him a little off-guard in the first run, Miller said, but he and the waxing crew made adjustments, which paid off with another podium in the sunny-but-10-degree weather. "I was sliding all over in that first run. I had no grip," Miller said. "I made up a lot on that second run. I was pushing the limit, for sure." Waxing technicians Thomas Buergler and Robby Kristan made adjustments between runs when Miller said he couldn't plant an edge on the injected surface of the course during his first run as he came down seventh. He had the second-fastest final run (Grandi was fastest) as he boosted his overall points total to 858; Benjamin Raich, who finished fourth, is second overall at 506 while Hermann Maier, who lives in Flachau, but was only 28th Tuesday, is third (482). "I'm feeling good," said Rahlves. "They must've used all the drinking water in Flachau to put it on the course. It was wicked icy...very grippy. But we got it done and, for me, this is one more step forward. "I felt relaxed at the start and tried to stay on top of my skis," he continued. "I was good on the top [second run] but I lost a little confidence at the bottom. It's a good feeling, though, to have a run like that and still get my first top-5 result." Coach: "Spencer - total stud" "I'm a very proud coach right now. Four in the top 15 - the guys dug super deep," said a beaming Head Coach Phil McNichol. "Bode skied his ass off on the second run, top to bottom.He was going bananas and so was the crowd...and a personal best again for 'D' in fifth place - he's ready for the podium in GS, too, and 13th for Erik... "And let me tell you right now, Dane Spencer is the stud of the year. He threw his back out on the first run and couldn't even buckle his boots for the second run," McNichol said. "But Dane went out there again and laid it down, coming in 12th. He's a total stud." McNichol added, "We're all so proud of Thomas, too. For him to win this one, too, after being the first Canadian guy to win a slalom or GS Sunday, is just so great. If it couldn't be an American, we're thrilled for Thomas. We consider him one of us, too, so it's a great victory for him and the Canadian team. Good for him...again." He said course workers had watered the hill to stabilize conditions "but it's been so cold lately that it got a little beyond where they wanted it although it still was fine. It was a super icy track, easily the hardest snow we've seen." The men run slalom Wednesday and then break for the Christmas holidays before regrouping Dec. 29 for the annual downhill in Bormio, Italy.
MEN'S ALPINE WORLD CUP
1. Thomas Grandi, Canada, 2:15.90
12. Dane Spencer, Boise, Idaho, 2:18.47
Did not qualify for 2nd run:
DNF-1:
— Courtesy of US Ski Team |
|
| |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|