Val Gardena: Miller second to Cuche in super G

For a little over a minute and a half it looked like Bode Miller's Team America would get its first win in the Val Gardena super G Friday. Then Didier Cuche, the next racer to cross the finish, edged his time by 0.02 seconds for his seventh career win and the fifth win for Switzerland this season.
    Claiming third was Marco Buechel of Liechtenstein, just another two-hundredths back.
    It was the first super G win for Cuche since the 2003 season when he won at Beaver Creek in December. His first SG win had been in March the previous season.
    All in all it was a fine day for the North Americans. Erik Guay was fifth for Canada with teammate Jan Hudec in ninth and John Kucera tied for 17th. Although Steven Nyman was a DNF, the late starting U.S. racers skied strongly with Scott Macartney getting 23rd from the 50th start, TJ Lanning 26th from the 48th start and Marco Sullivan 27th from the 54th start.

FOR A LITTLE over a minute and a half it looked like Bode Miller's Team America would get its first win in the Val Gardena super G Friday, Dec. 14. Then Didier Cuche, the next racer to cross the finish, edged his time by 0.02 seconds for his seventh career win and the fifth win for Switzerland this season.
    Claiming third was Marco Buechel of Liechtenstein, just another two-hundredths back.
    It was the first super G win for Cuche since the 2003 season when he won at Beaver Creek in December. His first SG win had been in March the previous season.
    All in all it was a fine day for the North Americans. Erik Guay was fifth for Canada with teammate Jan Hudec in ninth and John Kucera tied for 17th. Although Steven Nyman was a DNF, the late starting U.S. racers skied strongly with Scott Macartney getting 23rd from the 50th start, TJ Lanning 26th from the 48th start and Marco Sullivan 27th from the 54th start.
    Miller was the the 21st skier down the course and increased his lead on Buechel from the first to the second check points. He lost precious splits of a second in the middle section, hitting several gates that caused his arms to ricochet into the air.
    Cuche skied next and was significantly behind Miller through the first two check points. The Swiss skier was perfect on the lower section, and popped his ski off his foot and up into the air with delight upon seeing his name on top of the leaderboard.
    Steven Nyman came into the turns around the Camelbumps fast and got caught on his heels, the ski ran away from him and he touched a hip to the ground. All things said, though, there wasn't much to complain about.
    "The track was in great shape," said U.S. head men's coach Phil McNichol. "It's a dark hill anyway, so that was a little bit of an issue. The set was pretty basic, a tough turn over the Mauern jump and a little challenging around the camels. They got off the ground by the Ciaslat, so it was a little tricky, but in general it was a good opportunity. That's why it was so tight at the front."
     Tight, and old. The top four racers were all over 30 so it did the coach's heart good to see the young guys come on from the back of the pack.
    "There were just a few guys to get in out of the 30's and we had a bunch of them," said McNichol. The Italian guy (Alex) Happacher got the final point from 44. And (Manuel) Osborne-Paradis had a great run from 60. Otherwise all the guys with big numbers moving in were ours. That was a great performance from the guys back there and I was fired up."
     Coach was, however, disappointed with Nyman. "That was a silly mistake for a guy of his calibre."

An aggressive Cuche
Cuche had a very aggressive race in the second half of the course after making a mistake at the top. “I thought it will be difficult to win this race after making a mistake in the big jump situated in the upper part, and than nearly another major one near the finish line, so I’m really pleased to have made it today,” the 33-year-old said afterward.
     “You certainly need experience to win on such a slope, yet also much luck,” the defending downhill World Cup champion added. “The course was really challenging, it was really a tough fight all the time.”
Cuche was also happy to celebrate the first podium sweep for Head Skis. Last season, two Head champions managed to clinch the downhill and super G World Cup standings with Cuche and Miller.
 
Buechel on the moon
The happiest person on the podium surely was Marco Buechel, the downhill winner here two years ago. The World Cup veteran, encouraged at the finish area by his wife Doris (and his dog Jesper), has been struggling since the season start. He had something to prove during his impressive run on the Saslong run.
     “I was pretty upset and even mad this morning,” he told the press. “Yesterday evening I suddenly had to organize another back protection because the race jury thought it was not conforming to the rules even though I have been wearing it for several years now. Apparently a team believed that I also used it as a spoiler which was pretty crazy. Things like this have to be resolved earlier, not a few hours prior the race. So I had to call the factory and get somebody to bring me a new one – which is basically the same than I had before.”
     “I was really furious and ready to hit each single pole on my way down this afternoon. It seems this attitude helped me a lot  – maybe I should thank the FIS for this.”
 
Maier moves up
 This third super G race was also marked by the strong form of Canada’s Erik Guay, who finished fifth — just as in Lake Louise last month.  A year ago, Guay was second at Val Gardena – the first of a series of impressive podiums finishes for the athlete from Mont Tremblant.
“It’s good to be consistent, I’m not so far from the podium,” he said. “It’s really an exciting race –  also as a spectator.  It was a little bit nerve-wracking to be in the lead at the finish line and see the other guys came through. But it was a lot of fun and I’m looking forward for another great race tomorrow in the downhill.”
     “I could maybe be a little more aggressive in the top section, and a little bit more inside the line. The snow was very aggressive so you could take your chance. The leaders are all veterans but I hope to be able to beat them tomorrow.”
     Hermann Maier also did better here than in the U.S., reaching his goal to enter the top-10. “I had for sure a better day today, I managed to ski pretty well in some sections so this race is very positive for me, I’m on the right way, I guess. There is still room for improvement. I know I could have been more aggressive on my way down. I’m still missing that last piece of confidence which could help me to fully go for it. In the old days I would have skied a more radical line, but now I’m racing with thoughts in the back of my mind. I really wanted to finish that race and then it’s not possible to totally reach your limits.
     “Today was not such a great day for our team but I believe it can fight back tomorrow. Skiers like Michael Walchhofer or Andreas Buder have the potential to excel in the downhill. I don’t consider myself as a top contender. I only seldom skied well here, there is a lot of gl
iding in the upper part but maybe with a strong final part in the treacherous Ciaslast turns I can again finish among the best 10.”
     If the weather stays clear, Saturday’s downhill should be particularly interesting to watch.  “One of the most important parameters here is the wind, it can strongly influence the issue of the competition if it’s blowing in the upper part,” Buechel said. “We all hope it will be fair. We have not been so lucky in Lake Louise and Beaver Creek with the weather.”

   
     — Patrick Lang and The Associated Press contributed to this story

 

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The SCOOP

By Hank McKee

Equipment
Men's super G, Val Gardena, Italy, Dec. 14, 2007
Skier, skis/boots/binding
1 Cuche, Head/Head/Tyrolia
2 Miller, Head/Head/Tyrolia
3 Buechel, Head/Lange/Tyrolia
4 Defago, Rossignol/Lange/Rossignol
5 Guay, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
6 Staudacher, Head/Head/Tyrolia
7 Raich, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
8 Maier, Head/Head/Head
9 Hudec, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
10 Reichelt, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
  
Men's super G, Val Gardena, Italy, Dec. 14, 2007. … It is the 11th race of the men's 41 event 2007-08 World Cup schedule. … It is the third of seven scheduled super G's. … It is the first of a two race set at Val Gardena including a downhill Dec. 15. … It is the 61st World Cup race held at the site including the 1970 World Championships (counted as World Cups), two controversial parallel slaloms in 1975 and a combined split with Val d'Isere. … It is the seventh super G held at the site, the first won by Pirmin Zurbriggen Dec. 19, 1983 and the last won by Bode Miller Dec. 15, 2006. … It is the first Cup race hosted by Italy this season.
    It is the seventh career World Cup victory for Didier Cuche. … His first of the season, the last a downhill win at Kvitfjell March 10, 2007. … It is his third super G win, the first since Dec. 8, 2002 at Beaver Creek. … It is the first win for the Swiss at Val Gardena/Groden since Didier Defago (fourth in race today) won Dec. 20, 2002 in super G. … It is the fifth win for Switzerland this season, the most since 2002.
    It is the 54th career World Cup podium for Bode Miller. … His first of the season under the Team America banner. … It is his second career podium at Val Gardena, the first a win in SG Dec. 15, 2006. … He was also fourth in SG Dec. 17, 2004. … His top five of ten results at the site have come in SG.
    It is the 15th career World Cup podium for Marco Buechel. … His fourth in super G. … It is his first podium of the season, his next best a fifth in downhill at Beaver Creek Nov. 30. … It is his third podium at the site having won the Dec. 17, 2005 downhill and been third in SG Dec. 20, 2002. … Markus Foser is the only other skier from Liechtenstein to score a podium at the site, when he won the downhill Dec. 17, 1993.
    It is the 12th career top five for Erik Guay. … the fifth in super G. … He was second is SG at Val Gardena Dec. 16, 2005, and third in DH Dec. 17, 2005. … It is his second fifth place finish this season having placed the same in the Lake Louise SG Nov. 25. … It is the sixth World Cup top 10 for Jan Hudec in just 15 career scoring results. … It is his best result at Val Gardena. … It is his third best of five results this season having won the Lake Louise DH Nov. 24 and been eighth and ninth in the other two super G's. … It is the 20th best career result for John Kucera. … He won the super G at Lake Louise Nov. 26 earlier this season. … He was third in SG at Val Gardena a year ago for his only other podium result. … Scott Macartney matches his 15th career best result and also matches his DH result from Val Gardena Dec. 16, 2006 in 23rd place. … His second best career result, a seventh, came in SG at Val Gardena Dec. 16, 2005. … Manuel Osborne-Paradis matches his 13th best career mark of 19 scoring results. … It is his third best result at the site, having placed as high as fifth in DH Dec. 16, 2006. … It is the third career scoring result for TJ Lanning and second in super G. … It is the 22nd career scoring result for Marco Sullivan. … His second of the season after a second place result in the Lake Louise DH Nov. 24.
    Winning margin is .02. … Top 15 are with a second. … Top 25 skiers within two seconds. … Benjamin Raich (7th in race) maintains the lead in the overall standings 441-373 for Cuche. … Daniel Albrecht (did not race) holds third at 332. Miller is fourth at 274. … Cuche takes over the lead of the super G standings 184-161 for Raich. … Hannes Reichelt (10th in race) is third at 135. … Jan Hudec and Erik Guay lead North Americans in the super G standings tied in seventh with 90pts. … A great day for Head skis as the product sweeps the podium and puts five in the top 10. Top four skiers are all over 30 years of age.

 

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VAN BUYNDER Frederik 

Rank	Bib	FIS Code	Name	Year	Nation	Total Time	FIS Points
1	22	510030	CUCHE Didier	1974	SUI	1:36.62	0.00
2	21	532431	MILLER Bode	1977	USA	1:36.64	0.21
3	9	350032	BUECHEL Marco	1971	LIE	1:36.66	0.43
4	13	510727	DEFAGO Didier	1977	SUI	1:36.84	2.35
5	8	102263	GUAY Erik	1981	CAN	1:36.86	2.56
6	14	290998	STAUDACHER Patrick	1980	ITA	1:36.91	3.09
7	17	50625	RAICH Benjamin	1978	AUT	1:36.92	3.20
8	16	50423	MAIER Hermann	1972	AUT	1:37.08	4.90
9	10	102271	HUDEC Jan	1981	CAN	1:37.12	5.33
10	15	50742	REICHELT Hannes	1980	AUT	1:37.15	5.65
11	20	50451	GRUBER Christoph	1976	AUT	1:37.22	6.40
12	3	50600	GOERGL Stephan	1978	AUT	1:37.29	7.14
13	19	51005	SCHEIBER Mario	1983	AUT	1:37.42	8.53
14	1	50041	WALCHHOFER Michael	1975	AUT	1:37.43	8.63
15	24	291399	GIRARDI Walter	1976	ITA	1:37.59	10.34
16	23	560332	JERMAN Andrej	1978	SLO	1:37.62	10.66
17	25	510767	HOFFMANN Ambrosi	1977	SUI	1:37.63	10.77
17	18	102873	KUCERA John	1984	CAN	1:37.63	10.77
19	12	50858	STREITBERGER Georg	1981	AUT	1:37.75	12.05
20	6	293006	INNERHOFER Christof	1984	ITA	1:37.91	13.75
21	11	292455	FILL Peter	1982	ITA	1:37.94	14.07
21	7	510890	ZURBRIGGEN Silvan	1981	SUI	1:37.94	14.07
23	50	532490	MACARTNEY Scott	1978	USA	1:38.04	15.14
24	60	102899	OSBORNE-PARADIS Manuel	1984	CAN	1:38.41	19.08
25	52	561006	GLEBOV Alek	1983	SLO	1:38.43	19.30
26	48	534567	LANNING Thomas (tj)	1984	USA	1:38.64	21.53
27	57	533131	SULLIVAN Marco	1980	USA	1:38.75	22.71
28	29	292514	HEEL Werner	1982	ITA	1:38.82	23.45
29	31	510307	BRAND Olivier	1980	SUI	1:39.04	25.80
30	44	292150	HAPPACHER Alex	1979	ITA	1:39.16	27.08
31	55	40171	BRANCH Craig	1977	AUS	1:39.20	27.50
31	47	191740	CLAREY Johan	1981	FRA	1:39.20	27.50
33	40	510207	HARI Konrad	1978	SUI	1:39.22	27.72
34	59	291641	SULZENBACHER Kurt	1976	ITA	1:39.25	28.04
35	42	510165	HOFER Beni	1978	SUI	1:39.35	29.10
36	58	501324	OLSSON Matts	1988	SWE	1:39.39	29.53
37	49	292056	GUFLER Michael	1979	ITA	1:39.46	30.28
38	51	191964	POISSON David	1982	FRA	1:39.50	30.70
39	38	380260	KOSTELIC Ivica	1979	CRO	1:39.56	31.34
40	53	150421	ZAHROBSKY Petr	1980	CZE	1:39.72	33.05
41	41	191591	BERTRAND Yannick	1980	FRA	1:39.75	33.37
42	54	530939	WEIBRECHT Andrew	1986	USA	1:40.02	36.25
43	32	50761	ALSTER Christoph	1980	AUT	1:40.11	37.20
44	39	293141	VARETTONI Silvano	1984	ITA	1:40.42	40.51
45	43	510498	ZUEGER Cornel	1981	SUI	1:40.54	41.79
46	36	192746	THEAUX Adrien	1984	FRA	1:40.57	42.11
47	34	50919	STRUGER Peter	1982	AUT	1:40.62	42.64
48	61	60159	1988	BEL	1:45.72	97.01
49	5	510993	ALBRECHT Daniel	1983	SUI	1:51.81	161.93

Did not start 1st run : BOURQUE Francois (CAN)

Did not finish 1st run : STRODL Peter (GER), OLSSON Hans (SWE), DIXON Robbie (CAN), GORZA Ales (SLO), RAINER Niklas (SWE), SPORN Andrej (SLO), LANZINGER Matthias (AUT), NYMAN Steven (USA), DALCIN Pierre-Emmanuel (FRA), GRUENENFELDER Tobias (SUI), KEPPLER Stephan (GER)