BODE MILLER FIRST AMERICAN OVERALL WORLD CUP WINNER IN 22 YEARS

BODE MILLER FIRST AMERICAN OVERALL WORLD CUP WINNER IN 22 YEARSBode Miller of Franconia, New Hampshire, clinched the overall World Cup title today at Lenzerheide, ending a 22-year drought for American skiing. “This might be a springboard to something,” Miller said. “I don’t know where I’d spring to. Maybe just away.”

Miller finished the season with 1,648 points, the highest total since Stephan Eberharter took the globe with 1,702 in 2002. The most prestigious trophy in the sport, the “grosse kristallkugel” (big crystal globe) has gone to Austrians since 1999, when Lasse Kjus of Norway took it. Miller clinched the title in the second-to-last race of the year, the men’s giant slalom.

Miller spoke after the race about possibly quitting the World Cup to start his own tour. He accepted the idea that the American overall title drought was similar to New England’s long wait for a Red Sox world-series win. Click here to read more of what people in the sport are saying.

Scores of journalists attended Miller’s press conference following his win, but with the exception of one Swiss writer, only English-speaking reporters asked questions. That is in part because the journalists who cover the alpine World Cup have grown wary and exasperated with his belittling comments about the media, which he called “unimaginative.”

“He has a lot of fans in Austria and also here in Switzerland, so that’s not a problem for him,” said Benjamin Raich, Miller’s rival at the end of this season. “America is very far away and skiing is not so popular, so you have to work very hard at skiing. It will become popular in America.”

On the same day Miller clinched the overall, Raich clinched second in the same standings, taking an insurmountable lead over last year’s champion, Hermann Maier. Raich finishes the season with 1,454 points to Maier’s 1,295. The day before World Cup Finals, Maier said he would have won the overall this season had he not had trouble finding the right configuration of his Atomic boots.

“He [Miller] is one of the real big ones,” said Toni Sailer, the Austrian who won three golds at the 1956 Olympics. “In each decade you had one top skier.” Sailer named Jean-Killy, Franz Klammer, Marc Girardelli, Alberto Tomba, Maier and Miller.

Miller won the first race of the season, and then blasted onto the speed scene with back-to-back wins in Lake Louise in November, those who knew him best weren’t surprised.

Raich, meanwhile, remained the anti-Bode, finishing every race and taking time off when he needed it. At Wengen, for instance, Raich skipped the exhausting, two-and-a-half minute downhill so that he could focus on the slalom and combinations. He was third in slalom, and won the combined, walking away from the weekend with 160 points; Miller, meanwhile, raced all three events, failed to finish two of them, and emptied his gas tank in the downhill, finishing third despite staying out late the night before the race and not inspecting; he left the weekend with his rock-star status inflated, but only 60 points.

Click here to see Raich’s season.

Meanwhile, Miller fell off in the event that helped put him on the map back in 2001: the slalom. The former tech-event skier went seven for eight in slaloms this season. He managed to finish at the night race in Sestriere, and win, setting a record for the shortest period of time any skier has won in four disciplines (16 days).

While Raich has gone a year without failing to finish a slalom, Miller’s abysmal slalom record this season reminds many of his early efforts on the World Cup. This year, he explained his high DNF rate as a result of his busy World Cup schedule, which does not allow for much slalom training. In late February, he said he’d worked out the canting and binding-placement issues which were causing him trouble, but he still skied out at Kranjska Gora.

On top of all this, Miller managed to remain his charismatic self, drawing attention to the sport with his outspoken manner and maddeningly laid-back attitude about his success. In October he endorsed John Kerry for president. In January he said he was tired of his high profile , but this was right after he grabbed some attention by finishing third in one of the World Cup’s most difficult downhills despite skipping inspection. In February, he misplaced a medal at world championships, spoke about starting his own tour, and completed almost the entire Bormio downhill track on one ski.

Throughout the year, the leader in the overall World Cup standings wears a special red bib. This year, that bib was in the possession of Bode Miller from the very first race. In late December, he was leading the standings by almost 400 points. But by late February at Kranjska Gora , his lead had dwindled to just 31 points over Benni Raich.

Miller finished fourth in the standings in 2002, second in the standings in 2003, and fourth last year in what was one of the closest seasons ever (with four athletes Maier, Eberharter, Raich and Miller finishing within 131 points of each other).

Miller has raced in 34 World Cup races this season, and won seven times. In 13 of those races he either crashed or made a mistake big enough to disqualify him from the second run. In the remainder, he was almost always in the top five. He won six of the first ten races. Click here to see Miller’s season at the FIS site.

Of the last ten men’s World Cup overall titles, four have gone to Hermann Maier of Austria (1998, 2000, 2001 and 2004). The rest went to Alberto Tomba of Italy (1995), Lasse Kjus of Norway (1996 and 1999), Luc Alphand of France (1997) and Stephan Eberharter of Austria (2002 and 2003).

World Cup Season Standings

Men’s Overall
1. Bode Miller, USA 1648
His first overall title and the first for the U.S. since 1983 when Tamara McKinney and Phil Mahre both won.
2. Benjamin Raich, AUT 1454
3. Hermann Maier, AUT 1295
4. Michael Walchhofer, AUT 1012
5. Daron Rahlves USA 984
12. Thomas Grandi, CAN 500
25. Erik Guay, CAN 330
48. Francois Bourque, CAN 153
54. Erik Schlopy, USA 118
63. Ted Ligety, USA 89
64. Bryon Friedman 88
64. Jean-Philippe Roy,
CAN 88
69. Dane Spencer, USA 83
71. Tom Rothrock, USA 77
76. Patrick Biggs, CAN 66
90. Jan Hudec, CAN 42
92. Manuel Osborne-Paradis, CAN 40
92. Jeff Hume, CAN 40
100. John Kucera, CAN 31
103. Ryan Semple, CAN 30
108. James Cochran, USA 25
113. Scott Macartney, USA 20
116. Chip Knight, USA 18
139. Justin Johnson, USA 7

Women’s Overall
1. Anja Paerson, SWE 1359
Her second consecutive overall title. She is the third Swede to claim a overall title after Pernilla Wiberg (’97) and Ingemar Stenmark ’76-’77 & ’78.
2. Janica Kostelic, CRO 1356
3. Renate Goetschl, AUT 1164
4. Michaela Dorfmeister, AUT 1122
5. Tanja Poutiainen, FIN 1039
6. Lindsey Kildow, USA 914
9. Julia Mancuso, USA 659
15. Kristina Koznick, USA 432
17. Sarah Schleper, USA 423
20. Emily Brydon, CAN 341
22. Caroline Lalive, USA 286
23. Genevieve Simard, CAN 284
30. Kirsten Clark, USA 239
40. Allison Forsyth, CAN 175
45. Resi Stiegler, USA 164
55. Kelly Vanderbeek, CAN 121
57. Bryna McCarty, USA 105
60. Gail Kelly, CAN 92
64. Jonna Mendes, USA 82
67. Brigitte Acton, CAN 68
77. Britt Janyk, CAN 31
78. Libby Ludlow, USA 30
90. Melanie Turgeon, CAN 16
90. Sophie Splawinski, CAN 16
93. Kaylin Richardson, USA 15
102. Lauren Ross, USA 10
107. Anne Marie LeFrancois, CAN 7
112. Sherry Lawrence, CAN 5

Men’s Downhill
1. Michael Walchhofer, AUT 681
His first title. … he is the 18th Austrian DH title winner.
2. Bode Miller, USA 618
3. Hermann Maier, AUT 451
4. Daron Rahlves, USA 444
13. Erik Guay, CAN 330
32. Bryon Friedman, USA 88
36. Jeff Hume, CAN 40
37. Jan Hudec, CAN 36
37. Manuel Osborne-Paradis, CAN 36
48. Francois Bourque, CAN 15
52. Justin Johnson, USA 7
52. John Kucera, CAN 7
57. Scott Macartney, USA 3

1. Renate Goetschl AUT 567
It is her 4th DH title and 2nd consecutive. It is her 7th career discipline title and she won the overall in 2000.
2. Hilde Gerg, GER 495
3. Michaela Dorfmeister, AUT 432
4. Janica Kostelic, CRO 387
5. Lindsey Kildow, USA 384
10. Julia Mancuso, USA 170
11. Caroline Lalive, USA 166
12. Emily Brydon, CAN 155
15. Kirsten Clark, USA 148
23. Bryna McCarty, USA 59
26. Jonna Mendes, USA 50
33. Kelly Vanderbeek, CAN 27
41. Melanie Turgeon, CAN 16
50. Anne Marie LeFrancois, CAN 7

Men’s Slalom
1. Benjamin Raich, AUT 552
It is his 2nd slalom title having won the 2001 crown.
2. Rainer Schoenfelder, AUT 408
3. Giorgio Rocca, ITA 406
4. Manfred Pranger, AUT 396
5. Alois Vogl, GER 310
15. Bode Miller, USA 140
16. Thomas Grandi, CAN 134
17. Michael Janyk, CAN 113
24. Ted Ligety, USA 89
26. Tom Rothrock, USA 77
28. Patrick Biggs, CAN 66
38. Ryan Semple, CAN 30
42. Jean-Philippe Roy, CAN 24
46. Chip Knight, USA 18
51. Erik Schlopy, USA 10

Women’s Slalom
1. Tanja Poutiainen, FIN 570
Her first World Cup title and the 2nd ever for Finland.
2. Janica Kostelic, CRO 400
3. Marlies Schild, AUT 376
4. Kristina Koznick, USA 355
5. Sarah Schleper, USA 337
19. Resi Stiegler, USA 124
26. Julia Mancuso, USA 83
28. Lindsey Kildow, USA 60
38. Britt Janyk, CAN 19
42. Brigitte Acton, CAN 13
45. Lauren Ross, USA 10

Men’s Giant Slalom
1. Benjamin Raich, AUT 423
His third discipline title including two this season.
2. Bode Miller, USA 420
3. Thomas Grandi, CAN 366
4. Hermann Maier, AUT 362
5. Massimiliano Blardone, ITA 345
12. Daron Rahlves, USA 178
16. Erik Schlopy, USA 108
20. Dane Spencer, USA 83
24. Jean-Philippe Roy, CAN 64
42. James Cochran, USA 25
52. Francois Bourque, CAN 9

Women’s Giant Slalom
1. Tanja Poutiainen, FIN 461
her second career title and second of the season
2. Anja Paerson, SWE 410
3. Maria Rosa Rienda Contreras, SPA 384
4. Tina Maze, SLO 366
5. Genevieve Simard, CAN 241
8. Julia Mancuso, USA 230
14. Allison Forsyth, CAN 152
19. Gail Kelly, CAN 92
20. Sarah Schleper, USA 86
23. Kristina Koznick, USA 77
35. Lindsey Kildow, USA 29
35. Brigitte Acton, CAN 29
41. Emily Brydon, CAN 17
42. Sophie Splawinski, CAN 16
44. Caroline Lalive, USA 11
48. Kirsten Clark, USA 9
49. Resi Stiegler, USA 8

Men’s Super G
1. Bode Miller, USA 470
It is the first SG title ever won by an American.
2. Hermann Maier, AUT 453
3. Daron Rahlves, USA 362
4. Didier Defago, SUI 286
5. Michael Walchhofer, AUT 265
15. Eric Guay, CAN 131
16. Francois Bourque, CAN 129
40. Bryon Friedman, USA 9
45. Jan Hudec, CAN 6
50. Manuel Osborne-Paradis, CAN 4
51. Scott Macartney, USA 2
51. John Kucera, CAN 2

Women’s Super G
1. Michaela Dorfmeister, AUT 493
It is her third discipline title in 3 different disciplines
2. Renate Goetschl, AUT 416
3. Lindsey Kildow, USA 396
4. Anja Paerson, SWE 359
5. Hilde Gerg, GER 296
13. Julia Mancuso, USA 136
19. Emily Brydon, CAN 109
21. Kelly Vanderbeek, CAN 94
22. Caroline Lalive, USA 91
24. Kirsten Clark, USA 82
30. Bryna McCarty, USA 46
33. Genevieve Simard, CAN 43
35. Jonna Mendes, USA 32
37. Libby Ludlow, USA 30
42. Allison Forsyth,