Miller most happy with aggressive skiing at Wengen

By Published On: January 16th, 2008Comments Off on Miller most happy with aggressive skiing at Wengen

“It was extremely fun,” said Bode Miller after winning the Lauberhorn for the second straight year and tying Phil Mahre for the most World Cup wins by an American man with 27.
    “It didn’t feel that good as far as the quality of the skiing, but I was 100 percent aggressive. I pushed every section the whole way down, and I didn’t back off at all. " … That’s why I like to ski. I like to push it like that. And when I came across the finish line, I didn’t know where I would finish, but I was happy with the way I pushed.”
WENGEN, Switzerland — Wengen is the kind of place dreams are made of. Just ask Robert Redford. As late 60’s racer David Chappellet, he played a cocky kid from Colorado who bulldozed his way onto the World Cup circuit, got the hot racer-chaser Porsche-driving girl Camilla Sparv, and skied powder in Wengen when he should have been taking another training run for the Lauberhorn.
    While Downhill Racer was just a movie, there are some plot points that still ring true today. “Skiing’s not exactly a team sport,” says coach Gene Hackman. And one current downhill and all-around racer that has proven that statement true, earned the right last weekend to renown as one of, if not the greatest American skier of the modern era.
    “It was extremely fun,” said Bode Miller after winning the Lauberhorn for the second straight year and tying Phil Mahre for the most World Cup wins by an American man with 27.
    “It didn’t feel that good as far as the quality of the skiing, but I was 100 percent aggressive. I pushed every section the whole way down, and I didn’t back off at all. I made mistakes into the Hundschopf, and pushed even harder into the Canadian Corner, and made mistakes in the Canadian Corner, and pushed even harder into the S-turns, and made mistakes there, and pushed even harder into the super G turns. That’s why I like to ski. I like to push it like that. And when I came across the finish line, I didn’t know where I would finish, but I was happy with the way I pushed.”
    Switzerland’s Didier Cuche, still looking for his first win on the Lauberhorn, challenged Miller on the top section of the course but lost time on the bottom and settled for second place.
    When asked where the difference between his and Cuche’s run, Miller responded, “I’m just bigger than he is. Nah, I take a little more direct line through the Super G turns. It was unbelievably close down through the Hundschapf, and he skied faster through the S-turns. I didn’t ski very well there. He had 2 kilometers per hour more than I did after the S-turns. But through the Super G turns, I go much straighter.”
    “Clearly Bode had a great race,” U.S. head coach Phil McNichol said. “Especially down at the bottom. He’s able to carve super-clean turns in different situations better than anyone in the world. I am assuming that he knifed the Finish-S, and he probably did the Super-G turns really well and carried a lot of heat into there. I know he made a mistake above the Hundschopf, but I bet he was wicked clean through the Canadian Corner, and that’s his gift.”
    Miller, reflecting on his achievement on the all-time U.S. wins list, responded matter-of-factly, just as Redford’s Dave Chappelet would have done. “I’ve been thinking about trying to win races,” he said after the victory. “So that’s about where it goes for me. Sure, it was a goal that I have looked at since I was young. I thought I wanted to be the best that the U.S. had ever had, so I guess that’s what I am. It’s nice to have the numbers to back it up.”

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About the Author: Pete Rugh