Miller fast in Kitzbuehel training, but likely will not race

KITZBUEHEL, Austria — If you ask the droves of Austrian fans who fervently applauded Bode Miller Thursday as he skied into the Hahnenkamm finish stadium, they would undoubtedly say the 37-year-old American should race this weekend. If you ask Miller, however, the answer is likely a long, drawn-out response amounting to “No.”

Miller Time looked like a new man in the second of two training runs on the Streif, finishing sixth and stoking excitement for the possibility of a season debut on the famed track above Kitzbuehel, which is set to host a super G plus alpine combined on Friday and downhill on Saturday. Miller earlier this week finished his training run near the back of the pack, more than five seconds out while complaining of back pain.

“Bode, will you tell us if you will be racing this weekend?” queried the finish stadium announcer.

Miller just looked to the ground and shook his head as the crowd wondered, “No, you aren’t racing? Or, no, you won’t tell us?”

Reports have been coming into Ski Racing all week that a start for Miller in Kitzbuehel is not imminent, and that fact likely did not change despite the good training result on Thursday.

For the first time in nearly a week, Miller briefly spoke with the media on his way out of the finish.

“Today, I felt it right away that I had a little better grip,” Miller said. “But I still have to back off in some places because the risk is so high. If you get caught on the edge a little bit, the compression forces are so big. If you hit one bump and the ski sticks, it’s like having a car dropped on your back.”

More so than many other athletes, Miller has always been extremely in tune with his body and has trusted his gut when it comes to managing injuries. Right now, his gut is telling him not to push it, but of course, he left the door cracked open for the weekend.

“There’s a reason why everyone calls (the Hahnenkamm) the toughest race in the world,” said Miller. “There’s no margin for error. I could make one small mistake here and end up in the hospital. I’ve got to be smart about it. I’m sure there’s a discussion to be had because I was fast today. … But I would say it’s not likely that I race because the risk is still high.”

Miller made similar statements last week in Wengen prior to deciding to sit those races out. Meanwhile, the U.S. Ski Team and Universal Sports Network has again requested a POV runner for the weekend.

One racer who is definitely planning to compete this weekend, Kjetil Jansrud, was again fastest in training. He finished with a time of 1 minute, 54.71 seconds, ahead of Christof Innerhoffer (+0.20) and Matthias Mayer (+0.47). The run wasn’t quite as dominant for Jansrud as earlier in the week, when he blew everyone out of the water, but it’s a good indication that the Norwegian is in the hunt for his first victory on the Streif. (Jansrud’s best result in Kitzbuehel is fourth in the 2013 super G.)

“Kitzbuehel is the biggest race (for a downhiller). Kitzbuehel is the biggest race for everybody,” said Jansrud. “Downhill at Kitzbuehel is the biggest thing you can win. These two weekends we are having now (with Wengen) is the highlight of the season for everybody. I’m really looking forward to the weekend.”

With or without Miller, the Americans appear to be in good shape heading into the Hahnenkamm. Travis Ganong, who was third in training earlier in the week, had another positive run finishing ninth. With softening conditions Thursday, Ganong tried a different pair of skis with a different construction.

“I have a good plan. I know which skis I’m going to use. The ones I used today were a little too aggressive. They turn too much; they weren’t releasing enough. They’re really easy to ski, but easy isn’t fast.”

For sure, Steven Nyman has also been saving his best stuff for race day. He improved from his first training run to finish 12th on Thursday.

“Today, I figured out a few different lines. I skied better off the Mausefalle into the compression, so I carried more heat into carousel — I messed the carousel up. I went too direct and got really low there. … I fixed coming into the Hausberg (the jump over the lower pitch). I was better but still a little soft. If you want to win this thing, you really have to stick your nose in it. So hopefully I can do that on race day.”

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