KITZBUEHEL 2005: Hermann Maier beats Daron Rahlves by 0.02 for super G win
KITZBUEHEL 2005: Hermann Maier beats Daron Rahlves by 0.02 for super G win
The great Hermann Maier of Austria won the Kitzbuehel super G today, skiing through difficult conditions to take his first win of the season and the 48th of his career. Maier skied out of the 30th position to beat American speed hero Daron Rahlves by just 0.02 seconds.
“For sure he was a great favorite today,” said the stoic Maier after his win. “After one and a half or two weeks out you are very, very motivated for your first race. It was the same with me at Nagano…He may be a big favorite at the championships.”
Maier loves super G, which was his strongest event before his near-fatal motorcycle accident in late summer of 2001. It was also the first discipline he won a race in after his comeback. That was the Kitzbuehel super G in January of 2003.
“Two years ago it was for sure more emotional, because I had a long break after my leg accident and it was my first super G race, so I was very, very happy,” said Maier. “But every victory is great, especially here on this Austrian mountain.”
It snowed here Sunday night, and even on the morning of the race, but hundreds of Austrian soldiers were able to keep the track clear. Athletes had to contend with flat light.
“There are some key points in this track, and maybe I know it very well,” said Maier. “Maybe Daron Rahlves too, because he is very, very fast.”
The race was a super G that was re-scheduled after snowfall forced organizers to cancel it on Friday.
“Toughest guy on the circuit…”
Daron Rahlves joked after the race that Maier had exacted revenge for last season, when Rahlves had beaten the Austrian champion by just 0.03 seconds for the super G win. “I’ll get him next year by a hundredth,” said Rahlves.
For Rahlves, skiing onto the podium required enduring a great deal of pain in his left leg, where muscles are still traumatized by a fall he took on January 11 in Adelboden. “The mind overcame the body today,” said Rahlves, who hasn’t raced since the injury, but managed to run one of the downhill training runs on Thursday (which he says slightly aggravated the pain).
“I was able to ski through the pain today,” said Rahlves. “I thrive under pressure. I like pressure, and that’s what this race is all about. You have to believe in yourself and take chances.”
World Cup
Men’s Super G
Kitzbuehel, Austria
Jan. 24, 2005
1. Hermann Maier, AUT 1:22.39
2. Daron Rahlves, USA 1:22.41
3. Fritz Strobl, AUT 1:22.93
4. Didier Defago, SUI 1:23.02
5. Bode Miller, USA 1:23.06
5. Aksel Lund Svindal, NOR 1:23.06
7. Benjamin Raich, AUT 1:23.10
8. Kjetil Andre Aamodt, NOR 1:23.13
9. Stephan Goergl, AUT 1:23.17
10. Tobias Gruenenfelder, SUI 1:23.35
11. Michael Walchhofer, AUT 1:23.40
12. Peter Fill, ITA 1:23.45
13. Christoph Gruber, AUT 1:23.61
14. Georg Streitberger, AUT 1:23.68
15. Hannes Reichelt, AUT 1:23.72
16. Marco Buechel, LIE 1:23.78
17. Francois Bourque, CAN 1:23.84
18. Bjarne Solbakken, NOR 1:23.86
19. Mario Scheiber, AUT 1:23.89
20. Patrick Jaerbyn, SWE 1:24.02
20. Konrad Hari, SUI 1:24.02
22. Michael Gufler, ITA 1:24.12
23. Werner Heel, ITA 1:24.23
24. Andreas Ertl, GER 1:24.28
25. Ole Magnus Kilbeck, NOR 1:24.35
25. Michael Lanzinger, AUT 1:24.35
27. Ambrosi Hoffmann, SUI 1:24.36
28. Patrick Staudacher, ITA 1:24.37
29. David Poisson, FRA 1:24.47
30. Juerg Gruenenfelder, SUI 1:24.48
other North Americans:
34. Eric Guay, CAN 1:24.94
36. Scott Macartney, USA 1:24.96
37. David Anderson, CAN 1:25.04
40. Jakub Fiala, USA 1:25.37
42. Dane Spencer, USA 1:25.44
43. Justin Johnson, USA 1:25.47
44. Brad Spence, CAN 1:25.53
48. John Kucera, CAN 1:26.10
52. Steven Nyman, USA 1:27.59
DNF: Wade Bishop, USA; Jeff Hume, CAN
THE SCOOP
By Hank McKee
equipment
Men’s Super G, Kitzbuehel, Austria, Jan. 24, 2005 Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Maier, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
2 Rahlves, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
3 Strobl, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
4 Defago, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
5 Miller, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
5 Svindal, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
7 Raich, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
8 Aamodt, Dynastar/Nordica/Tyrolia
9 Goergl, Fischer/Lange/Fischer
10 Gruenenfelder, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
Men’s Super G, Kitzbuehel Jan. 24, 2005 – It is the 24th race of the men’s 35 race, 2 combined original World Cup schedule. … 1 combined current schedule. … It is the fourth of seven scheduled super G’s. … It is a race rescheduled four days by heavy snows and dangerous course conditions. … It is a very close race with a winning margin of two-one hundredths of a second. … Top 10 are all within the same second.
It is the 48th career win for Hermann Maier, the leader all-time among active racers. … It is his 21st career SG win. … an ongoing World Cup record. … It is his first win (and 6th podium) of the season. … His fifth win at Kitzbuehel.
It is the 19th career podium for Daron Rahlves. … his second of the season. … his sixth at Kitzbuehel. … He has three career podiums in SG… two of them are at Kitzbuehel.
It is the 24th career podium for Fritz Strobl. … His second of the season. … His third at Kitzbuehel, the other 2 being DH wins.
It is the 13th top five result for Bode miller this season. … It is his best result in a speed discipline at Kitzbuehel. … it is his worst SG result of the season . … Francois Bourque matches his best career result (and the season) in 17th. … It is the best placing in a speed event in Kitzbeuhel by a Canadians since 2001. … It is the first scoring results of the season for five men, Ole Kulbeck, Werner Heel, Michael Gufler, Hannes Reichelt, and Georg Streitberger.
Bode Miller maintains the World Cup overall lead 1093-918 over Benjamin Raich (finished 7th). … Daron Rahlves is the next American on the overall list in fifth at 516pts. … Hermann Maier takes the lead in the super G standings 292-275 over Miller. … Rahlves is sixth on the SG list with 159pts … Austria leads the Nations Cup 9671-4613 over the USA. … The Austrian men lead 5552-2123 over Italy with the US in third at 2045.
About the Author: Pete Rugh
