Palander wins race, Schoenfelder gets slalom globe; Miller finishes seventh

By Published On: June 3rd, 2004Comments Off on Palander wins race, Schoenfelder gets slalom globe; Miller finishes seventh

Palander wins race, Schoenfelder gets slalom globe; Miller finishes seventhAustria’s Rainer Schoenfelder won the men’s slalom World Cup title on Sunday despite finishing second to his rival Kalle Palander of Finland in the final race of the season.

Schoenfelder went into the race at the World Cup Finals in Sestriere, Italy, with a 55-point advantage over Palander and his podium finish was enough to secure top spot in the slalom standings.

Palander won with a two-run time of 1:49.67, 0.05 seconds ahead of Schoenfelder. Manfred Pranger, also of Austria, was third, 0.1 seconds further back.

Bode Miller, who clinched the GS globe when Saturday’s giant slalom race was cancelled, wrapped up his World Cup season with a seventh-place finish. That put him in fourth place overall behind three Austrians, winner Hermann Maier, Stephan Eberharter and Benjamin Raich, who was 10th in the slalom Sunday.

Daron Rahlves of the U.S. finished fifth in the overall, giving the U.S. two men in the top five for the first time since Phil Mahre won and twin brother Steve finished third in 1982.

Tom Rothrock, the only other American competing in slalom at the World Cup Finals, wound up 23rd, last among those who finished both runs. In a close contest, the entire field was separated by just over two seconds.

The battle between Schoenfelder and Palander has been soured by a dispute over the Austrian’s second place in Park City, Utah, on November 23 when he was allowed to race his first run again.

Schoenfelder was initially disqualified but later had his 80 points reinstated, prompting protests from Finland and other teams. Those protests were disallowed by the FIS in a ruling handed down last month. The Finns have taken their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

In the end, as the Finns feared, the disputed points proved decisive and the disappointment was hardly eased by Palander’s victory on Sunday.

“I have not felt so sad in my life after winning a race,” said Palander. “It is always nice to win but this victory was useless. I have won four slaloms this year but I lose the title which is incredible. He (Schoenfelder) won once and then you know what happened in Park City.”

“I don’t know how he feels inside,” Palander said. “I am still hoping we will hear some good news from our appeal.”

Schoenfelder has consistently been in the top five throughout the season and the part-time pop singer celebrated his victory by falling to his knees in the finish area.

“It feels like winning a gold [medal],” said the Austrian, “I knew that Palander would win today because he is a great skier. I just concentrated on doing my job to protect my lead. It was a beautiful race today and I was relaxed. People will take me seriously now. This was a great victory”.

In another great slap across Palander’s face, organizers played the Australian anthem when he went up to accept his trophy. “I should have walked off the stage,” he said.

It was a redemptive day for Manfred Pranger, who won the first run at three slaloms this season (Madonna di Campiglio, Adelboden and Kranjska Gora), only to crash in the second run of each. Today he won the first run, and held on to third place in the race, his fourth podium of the deceptively good season.

“I am very happy about the season,” he said. “I am four times on the podium and the other places, sixth and seventh, are also good. I was fast in Adelboden, a second before the other guys, and I go out. That makes it very hard for the other races. It gets harder and harder each time.”

Alpine World Cup Finals

Men’s Slalom

Sestriere, Italy

March 14, 2004


1. Kalle Palander (Finland) 1:49.67 (53.84/55.83)

2. Rainer Schoenfelder (Austria) 1:49.72 (53.90/55.82)

3. Manfred Pranger (Austria) 1:49.82 (53.40/56.42)

4. Edoardo Zardini (Italy) 1:50.23 (53.71/56.52)

5. Akira Sasaki (Japan) 1:50.25 (54.32/55.93)

6. Mario Matt (Austria) 1:50.34 (54.37/55.97)

7. Bode Miller (U.S.) 1:50.36 (54.68/55.68)

8. Truls Ove Karlsen (Norway) 1:50.49 (54.34/56.15)

9. Tom Stiansen (Norway) 1:50.64 (54.01/56.63)

10. Benjamin Raich (Austria) 1:50.68 (54.82/55.86)

11. Johan Brolenius (Sweden) 1:50.69 (54.59/56.10)

12. Giorgio Rocca (Italy) 1:50.73 (54.67/56.06)

13. Silvan Zurbriggen (Switzerland) 1:50.78 (54.35/56.43)

14. Drago Grubelnik (Slovenia) 1:50.83 (54.78/56.05)

15. Thomas Grandi (Canada) 1:50.84 (55.42/55.42)

16= Pierrick Bourgeat (France) 1:50.90 (55.06/55.84)

16= Kilian Albrecht (Austria) 1:50.90 (55.11/55.79)

18. Heinz Schilchegger (Austria) 1:51.01 (54.94/56.07)

19. Alois Vogl (Germany) 1:51.09 (55.30/55.79)

20. Felix Neureuther (Germany) 1:51.15 (55.38/55.77)

21. Raphael Faessler (Switzerland) 1:51.36 (55.25/56.11)

22. Giancarlo Bergamelli (Italy) 1:51.51 (55.03/56.48)

23. Tom Rothrock (U.S.) 1:51.73 (55.49/56.24)

DNF 1st: Manfred Moelgg (Italy), Kurt Engl (Austria)

DNS 1st: Michael Walchhofer (Austria)

World Cup Winners, 2003-04

MEN

Overall: Hermann Maier (Austria)

Downhill: Stephan Eberharter (Austria)

Super G: Hermann Maier

Giant slalom: Bode Miller (U.S.)

Slalom: Rainer Schoenfelder (Austria)

WOMEN

Overall: Anja Paerson (Sweden)

Downhill: Renate Goetschl (Austria)

Super G: Renate Goetschl

Giant slalom: Anja Paerson

Slalom: Anja Paerson

THE SCOOP

> by Hank McKee

Equipment, Men’s Slalom

Sestriere, Italy, March 14, 2004


Skier, skis/boots/bindings

1 Palander, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic

2 Schoenfelder, Fischer/Nordica/Tyrolia

3 Pranger, Volkl/Lange/Marker

4 Zardini, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon

5 Sasaki, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon

6 Matt, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon

7 Miller, Rossignol/Nordica/Rossignol

8 Karlsen, Fischer/Nordica/Tyrolia

9 Stiansen, Nordica/Nordica /Tyrolia

10 Raich, Atomic/Lange/Atomic

It’s the final race of the men’s 38-race schedule. … It’s the 27th victory of the season for Atomic skis.

Hermann Maier wins the World Cup overall title 1265-1223 over Stephan Eberharter. … Bode Miller finishes fourth (behind Benjamin Raich) and Daron Rahlves fifth for the U.S. … It’s the fourth overall title for Maier; he won previously in ’98, ’00 and ’01. … Among men, only Marc Girardelli has more overall titles. … Maier also wins the super G title, giving him 10 discipline titles for his career.

Rainer Schoenfelder wins the slalom title 630-595 over Kalle Palander. … Miller is the top American in fifth place at 376. … It’s the first World Cup title for Schoenfelder.

The 10th career win for Palander, with six of them coming this season. … It’s the 13th career podium for Schoenfelder, and his fifth this season. … It’s the fifth career podium for Manfred Pranger and fourth this season, out of seven scoring finishes. … It’s the 26th scoring finish of the season for Bode Miller, and marks the only time he’s been outside the top four in a GS or slalom that he’s finished. … The 14th scoring finish of the season for Thomas Grandi; he finishes 10th in the slalom rankings and 13th in GS.

Men’s Final Nations Cup Standings

1. Austria 10,628

2. Italy 3007

3. Switzerland 2661

4. Norway 2569

5. USA 2543

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About the Author: Pete Rugh