Are: Miller struggling in slalom, but potential is there

Bode Miller is seeking to become the first male skier with World Championship titles in all five disciplines and the only one missing from his collection is the slalom.
ARE, Sweden — Bode Miller is seeking to become the first male skier with World Championship titles in all five disciplines and the only one missing from his collection is the slalom.
    It’s tough to think the American is going to win Saturday’s race after he finished just one slalom in the last 13 months, but no one is quite ready to rule it out.
    “The results haven’t been there to support that and he’ll have to dig deep for it,” U.S. men’s head coach Phil McNichol said. “But people still believe he can do anything. He’s proven in the past so many times that he can.”
    Miller has five career World Cup slalom wins but the last one was in December 2004.
    That’s mainly because in recent years he’s focused more on the downhill and super G — speed events that require different skills than the turn-heavy slalom.
    “We got some work to do. I’ve been skiing every day in the afternoon,” Miller said. “The skis are better — we’ve been testing stuff out — but it’s still a long way to go to be competing with [Benjamin] Raich and those guys.”
    The Olympic and world slalom champion, Raich seems in the best position to win the gold. Sweden’s 21-year-old Jens Byggmark — who stunned the field with back-to-back wins at Kitzbühel, Austria, and a second place behind Raich in the night race at Schladming — is another favorite. So is his teammate Markus Larsson.
    But even they won’t dismiss Miller.
    “Bode Miller can do anything. I think he can do it,” said Byggmark, who leads the World Cup discipline standings.
    Raich, who went out in the first leg of Wednesday’s giant slalom, is also wary.
    “He’s not bad in slalom. As you saw in the first run at Kitzbühel, he was very fast. But it’s hard work for him,” Raich said.
    Miller had a rapid second run at the Austrian classic before going out just five gates from the finish.
    In Schladming two days later, Miller completed a slalom for the first time in 13 months, but only just. He skidded off the course early in the second run, hiked back up to rerun the gate and finished last, almost 10 seconds off the pace.
    “Right now slalom is a personal struggle for him,” McNichol told The Associated Press. “I’ve never seen him come up against something in skiing that’s been such a challenge for him. It’s his Gordian knot. He just can’t seem to get this one solved.”
    Slalom used to be one of Miller’s strongest disciplines. But since bulking up for the speed events, his technical events have suffered. Lighter skiers tend to be more agile and do better in slalom. In his slalom heyday, Miller weighed just 84 kilograms (185 pounds). He now weighs about 98 kilograms (215 pounds).
    Miller has also been doggedly searching to recapture the feeling he had on his skis when he was at the top of his slalom game, about five years ago. He spends more time than anyone testing skis — about 50 pairs this season alone.
    “He’s trying really hard. He’s working with the equipment, with his skiing. It’s certainly not for a lack of effort,” McNichol said.
    Miller is famous for being able to shrug off hard times.
    After emerging in 1999 with fourth-place finishes in a pair of World Cup slalom races, Miller went on a 17-race bust, failing to finish a single slalom in 33 months. He suddenly returned to form in 2001 to finish that season runner-up in the season-ending World Cup discipline rankings.
    “His struggle in the slalom is a bit different from anything he’s ever encountered, but it’s not messing with his head as it would other people,” McNichol said. “Though it’s still a challenge for his confidence and psyche, he’s never let defeat or trouble hinder his ability to stay positive.”
    Olympic combined champion Ted Ligety has lagged since breaking his hand in October, but he finished fourth in Wednesday’s GS.
    “It’s good to take that little bit of confidence from the GS and carry it into the race,” the American said. “I feel my slalom’s coming around now and like I can really do something there.”
    Sweden’s Markus Larsson won the slalom in Are at last year’s World Cup Finals.
    “It’s great to come back here. It feels very inspiring,” Larsson said. “It went pretty well last time, and I think it will this time too.”
    Reigning World Cup slalom champion Giorgio Rocca has struggled with knee pain all season and is an unknown factor.
    Sweden’s Anja Paerson beat Miller to the punch by winning the combined and downhill titles to become the first skier to collect golds in all five disciplines.

— Erica Bulman, The Associated Press