Val Gardena: Bode Miller wins super G

Dec 15, 2006

VAL GARDENA, Italy — Birds of Prey downhill winner Bode Miller won a super G by a large margin Friday, racing to his 23rd World Cup victory and his second in two weeks. The American covered the 2.4-kilometer (1.5-mile) Saslong course in 1 minute, 32.35 seconds. Christoph Gruber of Austria was second, a distant 0.64 seconds behind, and Canada's John Kucera was third, 0.73 back. American Steven Nyman tied for ninth. Check out SR's Miller photo gallery, showcasing the magnificent big-lens craftsmanship of Gepa Pictures.

VAL GARDENA, Italy — Birds of Prey downhill winner Bode Miller won a super G by a large margin Friday, racing to his 23rd World Cup victory and his second in two weeks.
    The American covered the 2.4-kilometer (1.5-mile) Saslong course in 1 minute, 32.35 seconds. Christoph Gruber of Austria was second, a distant 0.64 seconds behind, and Canada's John Kucera was third, 0.73 back. American Steven Nyman tied for ninth.
    ''I tried to ski aggressively and I definitely didn't make any mistakes,'' said Miller, who captured his fourth World Cup win in super G, a discipline in which he is also world champion. ''It's the first time this season that I was able to ski well from start to finish. I couldn't have asked for more.''
    Check out SR's Miller photo gallery, showcasing the magnificent big-lens craftsmanship of Gepa Pictures.
    Miller, who won a downhill in Beaver Creek, Colorado, on Dec. 1, is the first skier on the men's circuit with two victories this season. Miller sits second on the all-time U.S. win list behind Phil Mahre (27).
    Kucera won the season opening super G in Lake Louise, Alberta, and retained the discipline leader's red bib. ''I hope to keep it for more races,'' Kucera said. ''Wearing the red bib, you got to go fast.''
    Didier Cuche of Switzerland was fourth, 0.78 behind, and Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway finished fifth and retained the overall World Cup lead.
    Austria's Hermann Maier was the last top skier who had a chance to beat Miller. The Austrian was only 0.06 seconds off the American's pace at the first checkpoint but missed a gate near the end of his run and was disqualified.
    The powerhouse Austrian team has not won a race since Benjamin Raich took the season-opening slalom in Levi, Finland, more than a month ago.
    Hans Grugger, the Austrian who won the super G here last year, also skied off course. And Michael Walchhofer made a mistake midway through his run after a fast split.
    Sweden's Patrik Jaerbyn and Switzerland's Ambrosi Hoffmann and Juerg Gruenenfelder fell. Jaerbyn appeared fine. Hoffmann hit his head and Gruenenfelder bruised both legs and his back. Both will be out a week, the Swiss team said.
    It was the first top-three finish for Miller in Val Gardena, and it came courtesy of a near perfect run. ''I tried to ski aggressively and I definitely didn't make any mistakes,'' Miller said.
    Miller is the first skier on the men's circuit with two victories this season. Miller is trying to avoid more falls and is consulting more often with nutritionist Adam Carey this season.
    Miller's last super G win came at the World Cup Finals in Are, Sweden, at the end of last season. He is also the reigning super G world champion.
    "I've always taken myself pretty seriously," Miller said after Thursday's training. "It's just somebody who I believe has a little bit more information to give. Anytime I have questions, it's someone I can contact.
    "I ask him about different ideas like how to get more energy for a quick explosive race like a slalom. What to eat, what to drink. How soon to be drinking sports drinks before races, stuff like that."
    Cuche is favored for Saturday's downhill on the Saslong after leading both training sessions.

 — The Associated Press

THE SCOOP

By Hank McKee

Equipment
Men's super G, Val Gardena, Italy, Dec. 15, 2006
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Miller, Head/Head/Tyrolia
2 Gruber, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
3 Kucera, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
4 Cuche, Head/Head/Tyrolia
5 Svindal, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
6 Streitberger, Rossignol/Lange/Rossignol
7 Fill, Dynastar/Lange/Look
8 Keppler, Head/Tyrolia/Head
9 Zurbriggen, Fischer/Lange/Tyrolia
9 Nyman, Fischer/Fischer/Marker

Men’s super G, Val Gardena, Italy, Dec. 15, 2006. … It is the ninth race of the men’s 38 race World Cup schedule. … It is the second of six scheduled super G’s. … It is the first of two races at Val Gardena, the other a downhill on Saturday. … A GS and slalom are also scheduled at nearby Alta Badia Sunday and Monday. … These are the first races in Italy this season.
    It is the 23rd career World Cup win for Bode Miller. … His second of the season. … His fourth in SG, the last at Are March 16, 2006. … He has never won more than one SG in a season. … It is his first win at Val Gardena. … It is the 165th U.S. World Cup win, and third of the season. … Miller is second on the all-time USA win list four behind Phil Mahre's 27. … Miller has now won more SG's than any other U.S. competitor (four) moving out of a tie with Daron Rahlves. … They are the only two U.S. skiers with more than one SG win.
    It is the 11th career podium for Christoph Gruber. … His seventh in SG. … It is his first podium of the season. … Also his first at Val Gardena, having not placed better than ninth previously. … It is the 14th podium of the season for Austria. … The fifth for Austrian men.
    It is the second career podium for John Kucera and the second of the season. … The other was a win in SG at Lake Louise Nov. 26. … It is the fifth Canadian podium of the season. … Kucera is the only Canadian with two. … Kucera's only previous result at Val Gardena was 26th in SG Dec. 16, 2005.
    It is the fourth career top 10 for Steven Nyman. … His success has come on some of the most reputable courses of the tour, having been third at Beaver Creek (DH) earlier this season, fourth at Garmisch (DH) and sixth at Kitzbühel (CMB) last season. … He is now 10th overall on the World Cup standings. … Eleventh matches Francois Bourque's ninth-best career result. … It is his second best of the season behind a ninth in GS at Beaver Creek. … Fourteenth is the 22nd best of Erik Guay's 41 World Cup scoring results. … It is his second-best result of the season, having been sixth in SG at Lake Louise. … Fifteen
th matches the second-best career result for Jan Hudec, the only better finish being eighth at Lake Louise in DH in November 2004. … Marco Sullivan just missed scoring points with a 31st-place finish.
    Aksel Lund Svindal (fifth in race) maintains the overall lead 320-254 over Didier Cuche (fourth in race). Miller moves into a tie for third with Peter Fill (seventh in race) at 242. … Kucera holds the lead of the super G standings after two races 160-118 over Miller with Gruber in third at 96. … Winning margin is .64 seconds. … Top six are within the same second. … Top 26 within two seconds.

Men's World Cup super G results

VAL GARDENA, Italy — Results Friday from a World Cup super G on the 2.365-kilometer (1.5-mile) long Saslong course:

Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Total Time FIS Points
 1  21  532431 MILLER Bode  1977  USA   1:32.35  0.00
 2  22  50451 GRUBER Christoph  1976  AUT   1:32.99  7.14
 3  9  102873 KUCERA John  1984  CAN   1:33.08  8.14
 4  11  510030 CUCHE Didier  1974  SUI   1:33.13  8.70
 5  29  421328 SVINDAL Aksel Lund  1982  NOR   1:33.23  9.81
 6  1  50858 STREITBERGER Georg  1981  AUT   1:33.28  10.37
 7  24  292455 FILL Peter  1982  ITA   1:33.41  11.82
 8  34  201606 KEPPLER Stephan  1983  GER   1:33.44  12.16
 9  51  510890 ZURBRIGGEN Silvan  1981  SUI   1:33.45  12.27
 9  4  533866 NYMAN Steven  1982  USA   1:33.45  12.27
 11  13  102814 BOURQUE Francois  1984  CAN   1:33.46  12.38
 12  16  50743 LANZINGER Matthias  1980  AUT   1:33.54  13.27
 13  12  50182 STROBL Fritz  1972  AUT   1:33.62  14.16
 14  28  102263 GUAY Erik  1981  CAN   1:33.67  14.72
 15  48  102271 HUDEC Jan  1981  CAN   1:33.76  15.73
 16  27  50742 REICHELT Hannes  1980  AUT   1:33.84  16.62
 17  15  510727 DEFAGO Didier  1977  SUI   1:33.87  16.95
 18  8  190930 DENERIAZ Antoine  1976  FRA   1:33.88  17.06
 19  32  191116 DALCIN Pierre-Emmanuel  1977  FRA   1:33.89  17.18
 20  20  510478 KERNEN Bruno  1972  SUI   1:34.17  20.30
 21  53  560332 JERMAN Andrej  1978  SLO   1:34.18  20.41
 21  25  51005 SCHEIBER Mario  1983  AUT   1:34.18  20.41
 21  23  350032 BUECHEL Marco  1971  LIE   1:34.18  20.41
 24  7  290998 STAUDACHER Patrick  1980  ITA   1:34.30  21.75
 25  43  501076 OLSSON Hans  1984  SWE   1:34.33  22.08
 26  14  50041 WALCHHOFER Michael  1975  AUT   1:34.34  22.19
 27  33  192746 THEAUX Adrien  1984  FRA   1
:34.39		  22.75
 28  31  50761 ALSTER Christoph  1980  AUT   1:34.68  25.99
 28  3  291399 GIRARDI Walter  1976  ITA   1:34.68  25.99
 30  47  292150 HAPPACHER Alex  1979  ITA   1:34.69  26.10
 31  56  533131 SULLIVAN Marco  1980  USA   1:34.74  26.66
 32  44  510307 BRAND Olivier  1980  SUI   1:34.76  26.88
 33  40  220228 MICKEL Finlay  1977  GBR   1:34.81  27.44
 34  41  191415 BOTTOLLIER-LASQUIN Marc  1979  FRA   1:34.87  28.11
 35  2  292056 GUFLER Michael  1979  ITA   1:34.88  28.22
 36  18  532490 MACARTNEY Scott  1978  USA   1:34.91  28.55
 36  6  510747 GRUENENFELDER Tobias  1977  SUI   1:34.91  28.55
 38  42  191591 BERTRAND Yannick  1980  FRA   1:35.00  29.56
 39  38  293141 VARETTONI Silvano  1984  ITA   1:35.01  29.67
 40  46  102899 OSBORNE-PARADIS Manuel  1984  CAN   1:35.08  30.45
 41  59  421400 MYHRE Lars Elton  1984  NOR   1:35.13  31.01
 42  39  510498 ZUEGER Cornel  1981  SUI   1:35.38  33.79
 43  61  480736 HOROSHILOV Alexandr  1984  RUS   1:35.40  34.02
 44  54  533397 ZAMANSKY Jake  1981  USA   1:35.41  34.13
 45  17  50625 RAICH Benjamin  1978  AUT   1:35.45  34.57
 46  45  561067 PERKO Rok  1985  SLO   1:35.48  34.91
 47  52  201439 STEHLE Johannes  1981  GER   1:35.52  35.36
 48  50  532173 JOHNSON Justin J  1977  USA   1:35.75  37.92
 48  36  150421 ZAHROBSKY Petr  1980  CZE   1:35.75  37.92
 50  60  101375 LAVOIE Vincent  1977  CAN   1:35.77  38.14
 51  37  291116 FATTORI Alessandro  1973  ITA   1:35.79  38.37
 52  49  103512 FRISCH Jeffrey  1984  CAN   1:36.20  42.94
 

Did not finish 1st run :
SULZENBACHER Kurt (ITA), WOELFL Mathias (GER), DIXON Robbie (CAN), GRUENENFELDER Juerg (SUI), HOFFMANN Ambrosi (SUI), JAERBYN Patrik (SWE), GRUGGER Hans (AUT)

Disqualified 1st run :
MAIER Hermann (AUT), SPORN Andrej (SLO)

About the Author: Pete Rugh

Related Post

Nothing Found