Beaver Creek: Miller electrifies BOP crowd with DH win; Nyman 3rd, Mac, Sully top 10

For the third straight year, Americans rules at America’s downhill, as Bode Miller nailed down his second win in downhill on the Beaver Creek Birds of Prey course. The surprise was Steven Nyman taking an early start number and charging to third place, just behind Swiss veteran Didier Cuche.
    Held in falling snow, the race still drew a large crowd of spectators, most of who cheered loudly as Miller took to the course. Miller had won the downhill leg of the super combined down the same course a day previous, and the knowledgeable fans anticipated he could recapture that magic. Miller had failed to finish the slalom portion of the combined. Today he went from goat to hero in 1 minute, 46.15 seconds.
    The third-place result ushered Nyman into the ranks of contenders. He had placed fourth once before, at Garmisch last January, but this placing gave him his first podium.

BEAVER CREEK, Colorado — For the third straight year, Americans rules at America’s downhill, as Bode Miller nailed down his second win in downhill on the Beaver Creek Birds of Prey course. The surprise was Steven Nyman taking an early start number and charging to third place, just behind Swiss veteran Didier Cuche.
    Held in falling snow and flat light, the race still drew a large crowd of spectators, most of who cheered loudly as Miller took to the course. Miller had won the downhill leg of the super combined down the same course a day previous, and the knowledgeable fans anticipated he could recapture that magic. Miller had failed to finish the slalom portion of the combined. Today he went from goat to hero in 1 minute, 46.15 seconds.
    “It was actually an advantage that the conditions were so tough today and the visibility so poor because you narrow in your focus when that happens, you pay much more attention to what’s right in front of you," Miller said. "If it’s a perfectly clear, sunny day, you can see everything out of your peripheral vision.”
    Miller trailed race leader Didier Cuche on the top section, but got faster and faster despite a few heart-stopping moments.
    “I figured I’d be a bit behind up there — some guys naturally aren’t going to get as much wind,"he said. "This is one of those places where you can lose four-tenths on the top flat, but as long as you ski super-aggressive and don’t make any big mistakes on the bottom pitch, you can make that time right up. I was really, really aggressive and took about the most aggessive line I could manage.”
    The third-place result ushered Nyman into the ranks of contenders. He had placed fourth once before, at Garmisch last January, but this placing gave him his first podium.
    It was a horrendous day for the all-powerful Austrian team. The top finisher was Michael Walchhofer in fifth. All told, the Americans had four competitors in the top 10, with Scott Macartney in eighth and Marco Sullivan 10th.
    “Obviously it was a great team day, we had four guys in the top 10,” USSA President Bill Marolt said. “It’s clear when you have two guys on the podium that it’s a great day, but it’s also a great day when you have other guys finish in the top 10. Obviously Bode had a great race. He loves this mountain and conditions don’t bother him. I think Steve Nyman’s performance was just awesome. He skied hard, had this thing under control, just nailed it. This is what we train and prepare for, and [the results] tell the story.”   
    “It’s one of my favorite hills, it really has all the stuff I look for, so to ski it the way I did today is just awesome,” Miller said.
    Miller, known for his steady nerve, had a close call when a coach trying to retrieve his dropped start list lost his footing on the icy surface and tumbled across Miller's path just two gates down. The coach slid down a steep section of the course where racers negotiate a tricky back-and-forth turn, but was unhurt. Miller neither flinched nor slowed. In fact, he even picked up speed and was likely going about 55 mph (88 kph).
    “I kind of came back to this turn,” Miller said as he motioned with his hands, “and I thought he’d be out of the way, And when I came back [to the otherside of the curve] he still wasn’t that far out of the way,just on the other side. … But there was no way I was going back for a restart by that point.
    “It’s a little bit of a distraction, but being a ski racer, you’re used to those kinds of things and you get past them pretty quick,” Miller said. “Once I realized I wasn’t going to hit him, he was the last thing on my mind.”
    “That's just Bode,” said teammate Bryon Friedman, who watched the proceedings from the finish.
    A similar scenario happened to Hermann Maier, though the course worker didn't cross quite as close. However, Maier said the distraction did affect him slightly and the Austrian star finished 23rd, 1.98 off the pace.
    Americans have won the Birds of Prey downhill — considered one of the top-three toughest on the World Cup circuit — for the last three years, and four of the last five races.
    Daron Rahlves, the most decorated U.S. speed event skier, won in 2003 and 2005, and Miller in 2004, his last downhill victory.
    “It’s contentment when you ski like that. I know I can do it, I’ve skied like that before,” Miller said. “I don't know if I was at the end of my potential today but with all the variables I really felt excellent to put down that kind of run, where I was just charging the whole way.”
    Maier broke up the American winning streak in 2003, when a second race was held because of poor conditions at the French resort of Val d’Isere.
    Miller had been having a slow start to the season.
    At the season-opening slalom in Levi, Finland, earlier this month, he failed to qualify for the second run. And at the speed races in Lake Louise, Canada, last week, he finished 14th in a super G and 29th in a downhill.
    But the 29-year-old showed he was back on form in Thursday’s super combi, posting the fastest time in the downhill leg before going off course in the slalom run. His last World Cup victory was at the Finals in Are, Sweden, in March, when he won a super G
    Cuche said, “I’m really happy to be second today. I had a really bad year last season, and I was fighting for coming in the top 10. And now I’m skiing the way I can and I’m fast. That’s incredible.
    “It’s nice to be second behind Bode, but I wanted to be first and not second. But lots of races are coming now and I want to have fun.”
    He said the Birds of Prey course demands respect. "Big respect. Maybe the second most difficult course in the world. There is Kitzbühel, Bormio and Beaver Creek who are really, really tough. And today with that light and so many bumps, it’s as hard as Kitzbühel with sunshine."

Big day for Miller's teammates
   Nyman's podium was part of the USSA's stellar day. “I had to nail the turns down the pitch and I know how to ski the flats, and I ripped it. I’m happy,” Nym
an said. Then, he added with a big smile, “I couldn’t see where I was going, but I was charging!”
    Macartney said the snowfall made for flat light, which was tricky on a fast course. Overnight snowfall left several inches on the course, which was skied off by early racers as the conditions quickly got down to the hardpack course. “It was a challenge,” said Macartney, a two-time Olympian from Dartmouth College. “Tough conditions, the light was flat … and when that happens, you get a lot of speed — it’s fun to take on that challenge and see what you’re made of.
    “There were parts where I wasn’t sure I was gonna make it down the course,” he said. “But,” he added, “that’s part of a lot of World Cup courses.”
    Sullivan was especially happy because in December 2002 he finished sixth before tearing knee ligaments a year later when he crashed after spinning off the final jump, forcing him to miss the 2005 season. “This is my best result in four years, also here at Beaver Creek,” he said. Looking at an analysis of split-timing sections on the course, Sullivan beamed and pointed to the results showing he had the fastest timing.

— Don Cameron, Sam Flickinger, Hank McKee and Hilary Lund contributed to this report

THE SCOOP

By Hank McKee

Equipment

Men’s DH, Beaver Creek, Colo., Dec. 1, 2006
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Miller, Head/Head/Tyrolia
2 Cuche, Head/Head/Tyrolia
3 Nyman, Fischer/Fischer/Marker
4 Fill, Dynastar/Lange/Look
5 Walchhofer, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
6 Sulzenbacher, Fischer/Lange/Fischer
7 Buechel, Head/Lange/Tyrolia
8 Macartney, Nordica/Nordica/Marker
9 Scheiber, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
10 Sullivan, Nordica/Nordica/Marker

Men’s Downhill, Beaver Creek, Colo., Dec. 1, 2006. … It is the fifth race of the men’s 38-event 2007 World Cup schedule. … It is the second of 11 scheduled downhills. … It is the second of a four-race stint at Beaver Creek. … It is the 12th World Cup downhill held at Beaver Creek. … The race was held in a steady snowfall.
    It is the 22nd career World Cup win for Bode Miller and the 162nd for the U.S. … Miller sits second on the all-time U.S. win list behind Phil Mahre (27). … It is the third straight season Americans have won the DH at Beaver Creek with Miller also winning Dec. 3, 2004, and Daron Rahlves winning Dec. 2, 2005. Rahlves also won Dec. 5, 2003, but Hermann Maier won on the course the next day. … It is Miller’s third win (and fifth podium) in World Cup races at Beaver Creek. … He also won the GS at Beaver Creek Dec. 3, 2005. … 1:46.15 was the slowest winning time for a World Cup on the Birds of Prey course.
    It is the 24th career podium for Didier Cuche and his second at Beaver Creek, having won the super G Dec. 8, 2002. … It is his first podium since finishing second in GS at Flachau Dec. 21, 2004. … He is the seventh different Swiss to podium at Beaver Creek, dating to 1988 when Franz Heinzer and Peter Mueller won back-to-back races.
    It is the first career podium for Steven Nyman, his previous best a fourth in DH at Garmisch Jan. 28, 2006. … It is just his 14th career scoring finish. … He has placed three times before at Beaver Creek, 13th in the super combined a day ago, a 23rd in Dec. 2, 2005, DH and 25th in SG Dec. 1, 2005.
    Eighth place matches Scott Macartney’s career-best DH result, from Val Gardena Dec. 17, 2006. … His previous best at Beaver Creek had been 26th in SG Dec. 17, 2003. … Marco Sullivan claimed his second-best DH result, the better also at Beaver Creek Dec. 7, 2002. … His result completes an historic team mark as no American team had ever placed four skiers in the top 10 of a World Cup downhill. … John Kucera was the top Canadian finisher in 23rd. … That is his best placing at Beaver Creek. … Francis Bourque’s best DH result had come in Beaver Creek but a season ago. … finishing 25th was his worst DH scoring finish.
    Winning margin was .15 of a second. … Top five were with the same second. … Top 23 within two seconds. … Marco Buechel (7^th in race) leads the DH standings after two races with 136 pts. … Cuche is second at 125 and Peter Fill (4^th in race) third at 110. … Miller is fourth at 102. … Fill maintains the lead in the overall standings 184-154 over Cuche with Buechel third at 146. … Miller is the top American on the chart in eighth with 120pts.

Beaver Creek men's World Cup downhill results

Official timekeeper

Did not start 1st run :

HEEL Werner (ITA)

Did not finish 1st run :

KERNEN Bruno (SUI), GUAY Erik (CAN), GRUBER Christoph (AUT)