European Report: 'BodeMobile' under siege by fans; Austrians vie for overall

European Report: ‘BodeMobile’ under siege by fans; Austrians vie for overall{mosimage}Seems Bode Miller’s camper van was getting some unwanted attention over the weekend in Adelboden, Switzerland, but that didn’t stop him from scoring his best slalom result in more than a year.

Miller, who’s been sleeping in an RV parked near the finish of each World Cup race for most of the season, said he’s under siege by rowdy fans.

“The fans here are really supportive, but it’s a double-edged sword,” Miller told the AP. “They cheer a lot for me, but it’s the same ones banging on my RV all the time. It’s been fine the rest of the season but it’s been terrible here. There are kids out there all the time, violent little kids, you wouldn’t think it. It’s a little bit disappointing. They are fans. They should be more respectful.”

Miller’s still in the hunt for the overall title, though he admitted things are coming down to the wire. Austrian Benjamin Raich regained the overall lead with 985 points to Miller’s 852.

“The thing is with Raich, he is skiing the slalom, the giant slalom and even the downhill well,” Miller said. “He’s been unbelievably consistent. But it’s only 130 points. Come the races in Kranjska Gora, if I win the giant slalom and Raich blows out, it’s down to 30 points. But if he’s as consistent as he has been, it’ll be tough to overtake him. He’s been racking up the points.”

>> Austrians loving men’s showdown

As the men’s World Cup battle nears its climax, no one seems to be talking up their chances. Austrian fans, however, are loving the showdown between Benjamin Raich, Hermann Maier and Stefan Eberharter, who hog the top three spots in the overall standings, just ahead of Miller.

Raich jumped past Maier as overall leader after his third place in Sunday’s slalom at Adelboden to take a slender 31-point lead over the Herminator. Eberharter is poised at 104 points back while Miller is the top American in fourth, just 133 points back.

With five technical and five speed events left, all four men like their chances, but none want to publicly declare their confidence.

“I consider Hermann Maier the favorite and he considers me the same,” Raich told Austrian national radio ORF. “I can imagine it coming down to a duel between Hermann and myself, but after St. Anton [Austria this weekend] we’ll know more. I am happy to have gained the overall lead but there is still a long way to go.”

Maier, who, along with Eberharter will be among the favorites in the St. Anton downhill this weekend, insists he is not bothered about points.

“It would be fun to win but I don’t put pressure on myself,” Maier said. “For me it’s all about improving each race. You can’t force or plan victory, there are so many factors that come into play. At the moment I am just happy to be racing again.”

>> Canadians struggle in gates

Canadians lamented their poor performance over the weekend, with only one qualifier in men’s and women’s slalom races Sunday.

At Adelboden, Thomas Grandi was the lone Canadian to qualify for a second run. Grandi, who was 11th after an overcast and gusty first run, crashed out in the snowy second leg when he hit a rut and caught his outside edge, causing him to go careening at high speed into the safety netting.

“I’m not sure what happened,” Grandi said on the team’s web page. “I hit a rut or something. It’s something that never happens in training. It’s not something which could have been avoided.”

Teammate Julien Cousineau finished just out of the top-30 qualifying group in 31st place, after shaving his beard. Cousineau had said he would not shave his thick brown beard as long as he was skiing fast. With his beard, he qualified for the second run in three successive races before shaving. But the itching proved too much for Cousineau, who bared his face once again Saturday night.

“I skied fast on top,” Cousineau said. “I had really good splits and then I fell on the pitch. I’m sure I was right in there. It’s too bad if you fall. It happens. It could happen anywhere, it’s a matter of how much you put the angles. I put a little too much angle for that place. I went in after the steep pitch and my boots caught the snow so then it went under me.”

>> Garmisch-Partenkirchen wants 2009 worlds in bid to reshape image

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, is in the running to host the 2009 World Alpine Ski Championships, an event the German ski resort hopes will help it shed its image as an “old and musty” place.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is bidding for the world’s for a fifth time and last hosted the event in 1978. In 1999, it lost out to Vail, Colorado, but is once again in the running to host skiing’s biennial championships.

Vail is back in the running along with Val d’Isère, France, and Schladming, Austria. A decision is due June 3 during the FIS meeting in Miami.

During the men’s World Cup stop in late January, Garmisch-Partenkirchen had the chance to show off for visiting FIS dignitaries.

FIS president Gianfranco Kasper told the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that the resort has a strong chance to win.

“We have four good candidates,” Kasper said, “but Germany is the No. 1 ski market in the world and is needed to make the sport prosperous. We all suffered when German skiing hit rock bottom at the last World Championships. Skiing is at home in Europe; it has its base here.”