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Lance Armstrong might disagree, but some say that downhill racing is the worlds most difficult sport.
Lance Armstrong might disagree, but some say that downhill racing is the worlds most difficult sport.
-Miller is King of the Worlds in Downhill
Mountain Moment a Landmark for US
By Tony Chamberlain
February 6, 2005
http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/skiing/articles/2005/02/06/miller_is_king_of_the_worlds_in_downhill/
BORMIO, Italy -- One day, your showboating makes the coaches sputtering mad. Two days later, you win a second world title in a week for the US Ski Team.
Welcome to the world of Bode Miller, who, while not making the world championship downhill course look easy yesterday, certainly made it look fast in a historic gold-medal run. Last Saturday, Miller won the gold medal in the super-G.
Miller is the first American man to win the downhill in world championship competition. It also was the first world championship downhill in Bormio not won by a European.
For the second time this season, teammate Daron Rahlves took the silver behind Miller, coming within .44 of a second of him -- an unprecedented 1-2 for Americans in any world championship event. The duo also placed 1-2 two months ago at a World Cup downhill in Beaver Creek, Colo.
"I made a couple of mistakes on the course," said Miller, who ran in third position and finished the 2-mile run in 1 minute 56.22 seconds, then watched the world's elite downhillers take a crack at his time. "I really didn't think it would stand up."
But stand up it did, with the only real challenge coming from Rahlves, who, starting in 21st position, fell .7 behind Miller over the flats on the top of the course, then made his charge on the technical lower half.
Miller may have benefited from a bit of chicanery. Since the start order is determined by reversing the finishing order of the top 30 racers in the final training run, Miller, who wanted an early start, tripped the wand in the starting gate in his final run, then waited to start, piling up the time.
"I was the first one on the line we would ski," he said. "That worked great for me because the snow was so fresh. The downside was that early in the morning the visibility is not the best. But starting early obviously works for me, though it wouldn't work for all the racers."
Miller, who always flirts with a bad-boy image, enthralled his European fans but enraged his coaches in the combined downhill Thursday when one of his skis popped off 15 seconds into the race, yet he finished his 70-mile-an-hour run on one ski. The performance had thousands of spectators roaring their approval but drew criticism from US Alpine coach Phil McNichol. "Ski racing is about making decisions," said McNichol, "and while he did not get injured, that was not the right decision, because he could have."
Asked yesterday about his hotdogging, Miller joked that it was a good workout. "It strengthened my right leg so I could make good turns on it today," he said.
In fact, finishing the course took everything the Franconia, N.H., native had.
"The last three turns, my legs had nothing left," he said. "I was just bouncing sideways, struggling to hang on to the finish."
Because he ran so early, it was hard to tell how his time would stand up. One by one, the big guns -- especially Austrians Hermann Maier, Michael Walchhofer, and Fritz Strobl -- took their shots. Walchhofer, who leads the World Cup downhill standings, was slower over the top flats and fell behind Miller by .4 of a second. Halfway through the race, he was half a second behind and finished the race nearly a second behind.
Rahlves's run gave Miller a boost of confidence that his time would stand up.
"Daron is an inspirational skier," said Miller. "Watching him put in the kind of run he did and seeing he was that far out, I thought maybe I had a chance."
The last real drama came when Maier, a former World Cup and Olympic champion, began his run, in the 31st spot. But he could manage only a 17th, 1.73 seconds behind Miller. Maier, who nearly lost his leg in a motorcycle accident in August 2001, concedes that the lingering loss of sensation in the leg has slowed him, though his recovery was near-miraculous.
In some ways, European ski race fans have transferred much of their affection for Maier to Miller. Everywhere he skies, he is mobbed, and the motor coach he lives in from venue to venue is often surrounded by fans. "I think Europeans really connect to him," said Tom Kelly, spokesman for the US Ski Team. "He's kind of different, kind of wild. He spends time with them, and always has time to sign their autographs. And he's an American. That's a big deal with them because he's so different."
For Rahlves, yesterday's silver medal is something to cherish, but there was a wistful note in his voice as he acknowledged that he is clearly No. 2 to Miller.
"Downhill racing is the ultimate ski race, the ultimate risk," said the 32-year-old from Sugar Bowl, Calif. "I have always fought to be the best in the world, and I thought when [Austrian champion Stephan] Eberharter retired I would have a chance, but now Bode has taken over for Eberharter."
Miller began the World Cup season with four straight wins, including two downhills in North America (Lake Louise and Beaver Creek). His hopes to win the overall World Cup title are alive, though the nearly 400-point lead he once enjoyed over Austrian Ben Raich has dwindled to 95. Miller and Raich have won all three men's world championship medals so far (Raich won the combined). World championship medals do not count for Cup points.
