Bode Miller fastest in Kitzbuehel test run

Bode Miller claimed the second test run the downhill track at Kitzbuehel Thursday (Jan. 21) ahead of Saturday’s Hahnenkamm downhill.

Miller edged Wednesday’s fastest skier, Swiss Didier Cuche, by .12 of a second while Slovene Andrej Sporn got third.

It was an otherwise rough outing for the U.S. team outside of Miller. Andrew Weibrecht was next best and he finished in a tie for 31st.

The Canadian squad was led by Eric Guay in 34th.

U.S. coach Sasha Rearick said the famed Streif course had been tempered with some of the big jumps cut down, and that the surfaces were generally good.

“There’s a little chop, it’s not the hardest snow, but it’s good,” he said. “Through the Steilhang Rearick the snow is perfect …it’s not super bumpy.”

Rearick said that after the Atle Schiense the jumps were “pretty small,” saying the jump coming off the road was probably bigger than other spots. The sidehill after the Hausberg turn had the worst snow of the track and the finish jump, which has brough grief to so many racers over the years, “was barely a jump at all.”

Still, he said, the hill was challenging and indicated he expected to see a good race.

The training run was moved up an hour because officials were expecting a low fog to move in followed by precipitation.The precipitation never arrived and the projections for Friday’s super H varied depending on which forecast was believed, one calling for low fog, and the other for high fog.

Miller, he said, had skied relaxed, which he found particularly pleasing. Miller, he said “had been limping around like an old man,” Tuesday after working out hard.

The Austrians, hoping to rebound on their home course and get into the win column for the first time this season had Mario Scheiber in fifth and Michael Walchhofer sixth. The team had eight skiers in the top 30.

Croate skier Natko Zrncic-Dim again moved up from the back of the pack and placed eighth from the 46th start within a second of Miller’s time. Wengen slalom winner Ivica Kostelic was 11th from the 32nd start.

The remainder of the U.S. finishers were well out of the money. Steven Nyman was 39th, Marco Sullivan 42nd, Scott Macartney 47th, Ted Ligety 48th and Erik Fisher 54th. Manuel Osborne-Paradis was 36th and Ryan Semple 57th for Canada.

The downhill at Kitzbuehel is one race Miller has never won, though he was second in 2008. He has won the combined, in 2004 and 2008.

The 70th running of the Hahnekamm begins Friday with a super G. The downhill is Saturday with a slalom, used for calculating an old school combined, set for the finale on Sunday.

Bode Miller photo by GEPA