Are: Miller confident in gear for super G

ARE, Sweden — Bode Miller would seem to have everything going his way to defend his super G title on Saturday at the World Championships.
    The American won the last super G raced on this course and leads the World Cup discipline standings after winning two of three super G races so far this season.
    ''Right now my whole setup, my boots and skis are better than they've ever been before,'' Miller said. ''I feel as comfortable to jump on those as I have ever felt, which is super-important in super G.''
ARE, Sweden — Bode Miller would seem to have everything going his way to defend his super G title on Saturday at the World Championships.
    The American won the last super G raced on this course and leads the World Cup discipline standings after winning two of three super G races so far this season.
    ''Right now my whole setup, my boots and skis are better than they've ever been before,'' Miller said. ''I feel as comfortable to jump on those as I have ever felt, which is super-important in super G.''
    But there are a few good reasons Miller might not repeat: Hermann Maier, Aksel Lund Svindal and Didier Cuche.
    Svindal, the overall World Cup leader, is seeking his first world title. He is practically racing at home and a large crowd of Norwegian fans is expected to make the trip across the Swedish border.
    ''He comes from a history of overall winners,'' Miller said. ''He's super-disciplined. He's strong and he's big and he skis in five events. He's the perfect contender. He's a guy who could easily walk away from here with four or five medals.''
    Svindal has shown this course suits him, placing third behind Miller and the now-retired American Daron Rahlves in the super G at last season's World Cup Finals here.
    ''Of course I have a chance,'' Svindal said.
    Maier is one of the best super G skiers in history and was practically unbeatable in the discipline from 1997 to 2001.
    Though less prolific these days and still winless this season, Maier is famous for his resilience, bouncing back from spectacular crashes and a near-fatal motorcycle accident in 2001.
    ''I feel I can still ski fast,'' said the 34-year-old Austrian, who could be racing in the last major championships of his career. ''I don't have any victories this season but last year it was nearly the same. I went to the Olympics without a victory and then got two medals.''
    Considered past his prime heading into the 2005 worlds, Maier silenced critics by taking the giant slalom title. Again, in last year's Torino Olympics, he took silver and bronze in the super G and GS.
    ''You never know with Hermann, he's always tough. He's a super competitor and he has an amazing history of rising to the occasion,'' Miller said. ''But he definitely hasn't shown the speed that he has in the past.
    ''There's no real gliding sections where he's going to be able to pull out some super-fast skis. It's not exceptionally long, so his fitness isn't going to be the separating factor. It's just going to be a dogfight. There's a lot of guys who could possibly win this race, but I would certainly not rule Hermann out.''
    Cuche, fourth in Val Gardena, Italy, was the Olympic silver medalist in 1998 in Nagano, Japan.
    ''With the season I've had so far, my ambitions are high,'' said Cuche, runner-up in four downhills this season. ''I don't have a podium in super G yet but I hope I can iron out the last little details and get a medal.''
    Canada's John Kucera, the winner in Lake Louise and runner-up in Val Gardena, could also be a threat. Italy's Peter Fill, runner-up in the last super G, is another contender. Reigning Olympic champion Kjetil Andre Aamodt is now retired.
    While Miller is remembered for failing to finish the Olympic super G last year, it was perhaps the most formidable athletic feat of his entire career.
    Nearing the finish, Miller slammed into a gate and was twisted around in the air. Though he got his right ski under him, he fought for several seconds to regain control of his left, which at one point was pointing uphill. In an incredible balancing act, Miller stayed upright with the tip and tail of his stray ski striking the ground eight times before he was finally able to bring it parallel to the other.
    ''That's what it's all about for me,'' Miller said.