Beaver Creek: Svindal grabs early lead for overall

With the season six races old, it’s not too early to begin gauging who will win the overall World Cup title this year. Last year, Austrian Benni Raich won the overall, Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal was second and Bode Miller third, and the tide may not change much in 2007.
BEAVER CREEK, Colorado — With the season six races old, it’s not too early to begin gauging who will win the overall World Cup title this year. Last year, Austrian Benni Raich won the overall, Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal was second and Bode Miller third, and the tide may not change much in 2007.
    Svindal currently leads with 221 points, Raich is fourth with 150 points and Miller sits sixth with 142, with Didier Cuche, Peter Fill and Marco Buechel also scoring early points. With Miller and Svindal skiing superbly at Beaver Creek, the rest of the contenders had better pick up the pace.
    “I never see myself as a contestant for that [the overall],” Svindal said. “So I think Raich is a favorite and Bode. Hopefully I can keep up with those guys. My goal is to be as fast as I possibly can.”
    Buechel, despite a rib injury and an aging body, has enjoyed a strong start. “I’m the overall downhill leader, which is amazing. I didn’t expect this,” he said. “But the season is very long. My goals are Kitzbühel and Are.”
    Buechel, 35, said that although it’s too early to focus on, the downhill title is one he would cherish.
    “In the back of my head there’s always the overall,” he said after a DNF in the first run of Saturday’s GS. “I want to be top 10 in the overall, that’s for sure. But, in order to be there, I need to be good in GS as well, which I’m having problems with. … If I see that the overall is too hard to be in the top 10, I’ll focus on certain races only and try to be on the podium there and pay attention to that.”
    Buechel, although confident is his downhill skiing, is concerned with GS compromising his chance for the overall title.
    “The problem is, I’m the oldest in GS, and movement and everything, it’s really hard for me, I’m heavy, the young guys can ski more aggressive than I do. With my weight, my body, my age, I think I’m better in downhill. I have problems competing with the young guys.”
    Like most of the contestants for the overall, Buechel said the chase is in the hands of Miller, Raich and Svindal.
    “This year is going to be the usual suspects like every year,” Buechel added. “I think it’s Bode, Benni Raich, and the third guy involved would be Aksel Svindal if he manages to get really in shape soon. I think these three will fight for that title.”
    Raich has not had a terrific week yet, but will look to score points in Sunday’s Birds of Prey slalom.
    “In slalom, I had a very good start in Levi [won Finland slalom] and also here I was very fast [in combined slalom] before going out, so tomorrow it’s important to ski well to the finish and be fast.”
    This year with many new faces in the mix along with old legends fighting to keep their reign, it's every man for himself.
    “It’s always a very tough fight,” Raich said after finishing 11th in GS. “It’s very interesting every year, so it’s hard to win.”