Daron Rahlves (Sugar Bowl, CA), still fighting pain from a highlight-reel crash two weeks ago, attacked the fabled Streif run Monday in flat light and finished second - two-hundredths of a second behind Austrian great Hermann Maier - in the super G concluding the 65th Hahnenkamm Weekend. Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) finished fifth and boosted his World Cup points lead. "This was the payback for last year when I beat Hermann by three-hundredths," a smiling Rahlves said in the finish. "I'm feeling better - the crash [Jan. 11 in a giant slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland] didn't bother me. "This is really good for my confidence. I'm psyched going into Worlds and having the super G Saturday is great. I'm ready," he added.

In a race postponed from Friday by poor weather (which went on to wipe out Saturday's Hahnenkamm downhill), Rahlves skied 28th and took the lead with a time of a 1:22.41. Maier, running 30th, finished in 1:22.39 for his first victory of the season, the 48th of his storied career. It's his fourth super G win in Kitzbuehel; Rahlves's SG triumph a year ago is the only non-Austrian win in the Hahnenkamm super G.

Miller was the only other U.S. skier in the top 30; he had a time of 1:23.06 and gained nine points on Austrian Benjamin Raich, who finished seventh and is second in the overall points. Maier moved ahead of Miller in the super G points, 292-275 after four races. Overall, after 24 events, Miller has 1,093 points to 918 for Raich with Maier in third place (730).

"It was a bad race. I don't know what it was," Miller said, "but I missed every turn - I was too late on all of 'em. It was bad."

"Yeah, Bode's unhappy with his race," Head Coach Phil McNichol said, "but he overcame a bad start. I'm not sure what he was but he didn't nail the top the way he normally does where his GS skills are so good on those linked turns. But he did well through the middle - I think he may've won the middle, been second on the bottom where his emerging speed skills served him well.

"But, how about Mr. Rahlves? He really laid one down, really dug deep on this one...and when you lose by two-hundredths, that's the same as a win in an athlete's mind," the coach said. "It was fantastic to see 'D' in full racing form again. He's still wrestling with pain from the crash, but he was in full racing form today, dealing with the pain and getting the job done.

"It was great to watch, and it's certainly going to be great for him when he gets to Bormio in a day or two."

McNichol praised the course crew "for getting the most out of what they could for the track after all the rain and wet snow last week. They did a really good job of getting things ready. It was overcast and the guys had to race through flat light, but they got the race completed, which is good."

The men race a night slalom Tuesday in Schladming, then eveyrone heads to Bormio, Italy, for the start of the World Championships at the end of the week. The men race super G Saturday and the women run super G Sunday. The championships continue until Feb. 13; Miller, who was second in SG to the now retired Stephan Eberharter of Austria two years ago in St. Moritz, Switzerland, is the defending gold medalist in giant slalom and combined.

MEN'S ALPINE WORLD CUP
65th Hahnenkamm
Kitzbuehel, AUT - Jan. 24
Men's Super G

1. Hermann Maier, Austria, 1:22.39
2. Daron Rahlves, Sugar Bowl, Calif., 1:22.41
3. Fritz Strobl, Austria, 1:22.93
4. Didier Defago, Switzerland, 1:23.02
5T. Bode Miller, Franconia, N.H., and Aksel Lund Svindal, Norway, 1:23.06 each

36. Scott Macartney, Redmond, Wash., 1:24.96
40. Jake Fiala, Frisco, Colo., 1:25.37
42. Dane Spencer, Boise, Idaho, 1:25.44
43. J.J. Johnson, Park City, Utah, 1:25.47
52. Steve Nyman, Orem, Utah, 1:27.59

DNF:
Wade Bishop, Winter Park, Colo.

— Courtesy of US Ski Team