Sölden: Miller says he's ready to race Sunday

Just days after the revelation that Bode Miller had sustained a back injury that could keep him out of Sölden’s World Cup-opening GS race Sunday, Team America pulled into town Friday (without the busses) for a press conference organized by Head, and Miller said he'll be ready to start.    
    “I have seen five different doctors in the last week and a half,” said Miller, “and the general consensus was that it was a nerve issue that was shutting down the muscles in my thoracic, between my shoulder blades, as well as my calf and hamstring.” After attacking the problem from a nerve standpoint, he feels that the support in his back is “balanced."
SOLDEN, Austria — Just days after the revelation that Bode Miller had sustained a back injury that could keep him out of Sölden’s World Cup-opening GS race Sunday, Team America pulled into town Friday (without the busses) for a press conference organized by Head, and Miller painted a brighter picture for race day.
    “I have seen five different doctors in the last week and a half,” said Miller, “and the general consensus was that it was a nerve issue that was shutting down the muscles in my thoracic, between my shoulder blades, as well as my calf and hamstring.” After attacking the problem from a nerve standpoint, he feels that the support in his back is “balanced” and will be ready to start on Sunday.
    Miller was the focus of the question session as Hermann Maier, Head’s newest skier, fielded only one question before they turned the session over to Miller. “This is a funny race,” Miller said, “a lot of people ski the race as if it’s a training run, but you can’t do that. You’ll see quite a bit of separation between the top and the rest of the field.” But he joked about his new teammate, saying, “We’ve been testing these skis for the last year, and now Hermann will probably come in and win the race.”
    Miller also responded to questions about his old team, the U.S. Ski Team. “Obviously [this year] there’s a team aspect that’s missing. There’s guys you’ve known and skied with for years, and I haven’t seen them at all. But I got to catch up with them here on the glacier the other day, which was good.”  
    Meanwhile, fans began to trickle into the sleepy town of Sölden today, bands are playing in the street and the festivities have started. It feels like winter is about to begin.