Bormio: Miller wins first as independent

BORMIO, Italy — Bode Miller won the men's World Cup downhill on the rugged Stelvio course Saturday.
    Miller covered the 3,270-kilometer (2.03-mile) layout in 2 minutes, 0.57 seconds, for his first World Cup win since breaking away from the U.S. Ski Team during the offseason to train and race on his own.
    Andreas Buder was second, 0.45 seconds behind, and Canada's Jan Hudec was third, 0.54 back.

BORMIO, Italy — Bode Miller won the men's World Cup downhill on the rugged Stelvio course Saturday.
    Miller covered the 3,270-kilometer (2.03-mile) layout in 2 minutes, 0.57 seconds, for his first World Cup win since breaking away from the U.S. Ski Team during the offseason to train and race on his own.
    Austria's Andreas Buder was second, 0.45 seconds behind, and Canada's Jan Hudec was third, 0.54 back.
    Didier Cuche finished fourth and pre-race favorite Michael Walchhofer got thrown off course midway through his run and nearly crashed into the fence. He finished in a tie for 19th.
    Canada's Erik Guay, who won the opening training run, gave Canada two top-10 finishers with an eighth-place showing. Slovenia's Andrej Jerman, Friday's training run winner, finished fifth.
    The top U.S. Ski Team finisher was Marco Sullivan in 12th, one spot ahead of Hermann Maier. Steven Nyman was well off the pace in 40th position, and Scott Macartney was a DNF.
    The win was Miller's 26th of his World Cup career and moved him within a victory of tying Phil Mahre for the most wins by an American on the World Cup.   
   While the other favorites had trouble, Miller put down a near-perfect run.
    ''It's a miracle really,'' Miller said. ''If you want to make it down you've got to take it easy on some of the curves. I just tried to hold on at the end. I was out of gas.''
    The Stelvio trails only Wengen, Switzerland, for the longest course on the World Cup circuit.
    Unlike Wengen, though, the Stelvio bumps and jerks skiers from start to finish. The bases of the racers' skis remain completely attached to the snow for only 12 seconds of the average 120-second run. The rest of the time, skiers are on their edges changing direction and executing turns and jumps.
    Miller's last victory came in Wengen nearly a year ago.
    ''I tend to do better on the really tough courses. I focus more,'' Miller said.
    Miller won both the downhill and super-G here at the 2005 World Championships.
    ''I've always liked this course,'' he said. ''It really challenges me.''
    Miller hired Johno McBride away from the U.S. team to be his head coach this season and also brought in former U.S. coaches Forest Carey and Mike Kenney. Carey skied with Miller at the Carrabassett Valley Academy in Maine, and Kenney is his uncle.
    McBride arrived in Bormio on Friday night after missing the last few races for the birth of his child.
    ''I think they were getting ready to kill me if I didn't win soon,'' Miller said of his team.
    Hudec won the silver medal in downhill at last season's worlds in Are, Sweden, and then won the opening downhill this season in Lake Louise, Alberta.   
    ''This is really special, because Bormio is not a glider's course. The last 45 seconds you have to have it here,'' Hudec said, pointing to his heart.
    Miller becomes the fourth American to post a podium finish in the four downhills this season. The other three — Marco Sullivan, Steven Nyman and Scott Macartney — each had problems Saturday.   
    Sullivan could have been in the top 10 if not for a major error midway through his run that cost him a half-second. Nyman skied far off course and finished last and Macartney missed a gate and did not finish.   
    Sullivan, Nyman and Macartney each went over and congratulated Miller.
    U.S. Head Speed Coach Chris Brigham said, "Bode had a pretty damn good run. He's done well here in the past, and he showed again what he can do."

Dicey light
The light, going from sunshine into shadows and back out again, was tricky. "You're in and out of the sunlight, and it's that way through all the sections," Brigham said. "It's long, but the biggest challenge is that light."
    He noted Sullivan crashed in the first training run Thursday "and beat himself up pretty good, so for him to come down and match his best result in Bormio was impressive. Good for him."
    Nyman and Macartney had trouble off a big jump in the middle section with Nyman veering off-course a bit while Macartney missed a gate when he landed.
    The men race next on Jan. 5-6 with a GS and slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland. Those will be followed by three races Jan. 11-13 in Wengen, Switzerland, during the 78th Lauberhorn Weekend — a super combined, downhill and slalom.
    Bormio is also the site of this season's World Cup finals in March, meaning Miller will have another opportunity to win here.
    ''I hope so,'' he said. ''But I don't know if I can do that again.''    

    — The Associated Press and USSA contributed to this report

The SCOOP

By Hank McKee

Equipment
Men's Downhill, Bormio, Italy, Dec. 29, 2007
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Miller, Head/Head/Tyrolia
2 Buder, Head/Lange/Tyrolia
3 Hudec, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
4 Cuche, Head/Head/Tyrolia
5 Jerman, Stoeckli/Lange/Atomic
6 Defago, Rossignol/Lange/Rossignol
7 Kroell, Salomon/Nordica/Salomon
8 Guay, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
9 Innerhofer, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
10 Kucera, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
  
Men's Downhill, Bormio, Italy, Dec. 29, 2007. … It is the 15th race of the men's 41 event 2007-08 World Cup schedule. … It is the fourth of ten scheduled downhills. … It is the 16th men's downhill held at Bormio and the sixth to be held on Dec. 29.
    It is the 26th career World Cup win for Bode Miller. … He moves one closer to Phil Mahre's U.S. record 27 wins. … It is his fifth Cup DH win. … It is his first win of the season, and his first at Bormio in a World Cup, although he won both the DH and super G at the 2005 World Championships at the site. … It is the 177th World Cup win for the U.S. … The 50th in downhill. … It is the fourth U.S. win of the season and the 16th podium. … Miller is the only U.S. competitor to have won in more than three disciplines and he has at least two wins in each. … It is his first win since skiing independently of the U.S. Ski Team.
    It is a career best placing for And
reas Buder and his third podium having been third in DH at Garmisch Jan. 28, 2006 and at Lake Louise earlier this season Nov. 24. … It is the 34th DH podium at Bormio for Austria.
    It is the second career World Cup podium for Jan Hudec. … and his second of the season having won at Lake Louise Nov. 24. … It is the sixth podium of the season for Canada and leads an effort that placed three in the top 10.
    It is the 24th time Erik Guay had recorded a top 10 World Cup finish. … His 14th time in DH. … It is his second top 10 in DH at Bormio having placed tenth one year and one day previously. … It is the eighth career top 10 for John Kucera. … All eight have come either in North America or Italy. … It is his fifth top 10 of the season. … It is his second career top 10 in downhill. … Marco Sullivan matches his result on the same course exactly a year ago. … He has placed 12th or 13th in three of his four DH results at Bormio. … It is the ninth best career World Cup result for Manuel Osborne-Paradis and beats his previous best at Bormio by two placings. … It is his second best result of the season.
    Winning margin is .45 of a second. … Top seven skiers are within a second. … Top 22 within two seconds. … Benjamin Raich (28th in race) maintains the lead in the overall standings 524-503 over Didier Cuche (fourth in race). … Bode Miller climbs to third overall at 406. … Michael Walchhofer (19th in race) holds the lead of the downhill standings 230-204 over Cuche. … Miller also moves to third in these standings at 183. … Jan Hudec is fourth at 174.
    Austria leads the men's Nations Cup 2648-1798 over Switzerland. … Italy is third at 1334. … The U.S. fourth at 1222 and Canada fifth at 915pts. … With the genders combined it is Austria first at 4916, Switzerland second at 2684, the U.S. third at 2407, Italy fourth at 2388 and Canada fifth at 1516.

 
Men's World Cup downhill results

< td class="i1" align="center">CAN 

Did not start 1st run: NOCENTI Cyril (FRA)

Did not finish 1st run: VIEUX Cyril (FRA), SINE Gareth (CAN), BOUILLOT Alexandre (FRA), BRANCH Craig (AUS), CLAREY Johan (FRA), GRUENENFELDER Tobias (SUI), BUECHEL Marco (LIE), STREITBERGER Georg (AUT), MACARTNEY Scott (USA)

Disqualified 1st run: HEEL Werner (ITA), STAUDACHER Patrick (ITA)