Bormio: Cuche wins downhill title as race is cancelled

BORMIO, Italy — Didier Cuche of Switzerland won his second World Cup downhill title today when officials were forced to cancel the men’s downhill training run at the World Cup Finals.
   Without a training run, the season’s last downhill, scheduled for Wednesday, cannot be held; World Cup rules require at least one training run in advance of a downhill. The cancellation of that race means American Bode Miller will come up five points short — 584-579 — in his pursuit of Cuche, 33, who also won the title in 2007. Miller was bidding to become the first American to win the downhill globe; only Miller, who was the runner-up in 2005, and Daron Rahlves (2004) have finished as high as second in the downhill points.
   Following the cancellation, Miller faulted race organizers for failing to make a stronger effort to fit the training run into the schedule.

BORMIO, Italy — Didier Cuche of Switzerland won his second World Cup downhill title today when officials were forced to cancel the men’s downhill training run at the World Cup Finals.

Without a training run, the season’s last downhill, scheduled for Wednesday, cannot be held; World Cup rules require at least one training run in advance of a downhill. The cancellation of that race means American Bode Miller will come up five points short — 584-579 — in his pursuit of Cuche, 33, who also won the title in 2007. Miller was bidding to become the first American to win the downhill globe; only Miller, who was the runner-up in 2005, and Daron Rahlves (2004) have finished as high as second in the downhill points.

Following the cancellation, Miller faulted race organizers for failing to make a stronger effort to fit the training run into the schedule.

The overnight snow, morning fog and generally soft conditions that forced cancellation of the men’s training run also scrapped the second training run for the women’s downhill. The women did get in one training run on Monday, so if conditions improve, the women’s downhill race could take place on Wednesday as scheduled.

American skier Lindsay Vonn has clinched the women’s downhill globe, and, like Miller, is in the lead for the overall World Cup title. Vonn is 157 points ahead of Germany’s Maria Riesch and 178 points in front of Austria’s Nicole Hosp. If she can hold on, Vonn would become the first American woman to win the overall title since Tamara McKinney, 25 years ago. Miller holds a 169-point lead on Cuche and is 264 points ahead of Austria's Benjamin Raich in the overall with just three races left.

Miller told Andrew Dampf of the Associated Press that "the evidence points to they didn't want to get the [downhill] off," because a cancellation favored his Swiss and Austrian rivals.

Faulting organizers for not consulting racers and coaches, Miller said officials could have tried to hold the training run later in the day, run on a shortened course, or even made room in the schedule by dumping Sunday's team event. ''I mean the course is in good shape except for the last 15 seconds,'' Miller said. ''It's clear that they could have done any one of those options if they wanted to, to prepare to run the race tomorrow. And if it's unsafe tomorrow, you make that choice tomorrow. To me, it seems pretty clear that they wanted to not have this race.''

For his part, Cuche said he was ''sorry to win it this way.'' Men's World Cup director Guenther Hujara pointed to the unanimous decision by the race jury. "It was not possible because the snow did not provide safe conditions,'' Hujara told the AP. ''If Bode was in the lead and Cuche was five points behind, the Swiss would be calling me right now. That's why the race program can't be changed. This has happened in the past and that's why we do it this way at Finals."

Miller's coach, John McBride, was upset that the decision to call training off was made before noon. "I mean, with 25 guys in the field we could have been running at 3 in the afternoon," McBride said. The coach added, “What I'm bummed out about is losing the chance to have two titans fighting it out for a title. It would have been good for television, good for spectators and good for the sport. These guys (Miller and Cuche) would have brought everything they had.”

It was tough to judge what effect the cancellation had on the race for the overall title. Miller holds a 169 point lead ahead of Cuche in the overall standings, with Raich 264 points behind. Now only three races remain — a super-G on Thursday, a giant slalom on Friday and a slalom on Saturday. Each win is worth 100 points.

Cuche said he was prepared to race, training run or not. "I was ready for that last race and it would have been fair for everybody to compete tomorrow,” he told the media after the cancellation. "I talked to Bode this morning but he told me that I deserved to win the [downhill title] after being so consistent during the entire winter. I thanked him for this comment and told him that he certai
nly will win the big cup now because there are no longer enough races for me to catch him."

"Of course, it’s wonderful for me to capture that second trophy in downhill," he said. "It has been my big goal this winter and it means a lot to me to have reached it. It has been more difficult this time because there was more expectation and more pressure on me. Last winter, I came out almost as a surprising winner after my slow 2006 season but this year, I was strongly aiming for it, so it matters almost more."

In typical Cuche fashion he added one last piece of levity. "It’s funny to think that I practically owe this cup to Werner Heel, who took 20 points away (from Miller) at Kvitfjell by surprisingly winning the first downhill race. I think I’ll send him a box of beer at home to thank him for this."

— Patrick Lang and Hank McKee contributed to this story