Bode

[Phineas]

MARCH 15, 2006
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Juliann Fritz, jfritz@ussa.org

BODE MILLER 2ND IN DOWNHILL AT WORLD CUP FINALS
Rahlves 7th, Junior Worlds champ Beckmann 19th

ARE, Sweden (March 15) - Reigning downhill world champion Bode
Miller (Bretton Woods, NH) returned to World Cup racing
Wednesday by finishing second in the last downhill of the
season, two-tenths of a second behind Norway’s Axel Lund Svindal
as World Cup Finals got underway on the 2007 World Alpine Ski
Championships course.

Svindal won in an unofficial 1:42.40 with Miller, who skipped
the Far East swing of four races after the Olympics to rest his
sore left knee, timed in 1:42.40. Daron Rahlves (Sugar Bowl, CA)
was seventh with Junior Worlds downhill champ Chris Beckmann
(Altamont, NY) 19th while Steve Nyman (Orem, UT) crashed on the
lower portion of the 2.9K track.

Olympic silver medalist Michael Walchhofer of Austria was 11th
but clinched his second straight World Cup downhill crown,
finishing with 522 points after nine DHs to 491 for teammate
Fritz Strobl and 444 for Rahlves in third place. At World Cup
Finals, points are awarded only to the top 15 finishers in each
race.

Miller relieved after time off
“In general, I’m really happy with the way I skied. I came here
knowing I’d have to work hard, especially with just one training
run,” Miller said. After the Olympics, he went to Paris with one
of his sisters and then played golf on a brief vacation in
Florida.

“I’m the kind of guy who benefits from training runs, especially
with jumps as big as today, and knowing I’d need to be
aggressive”

He said, “The season’s almost over. I’ve only won one race so I
really want to win here.” With three races remaining, Miller is
fourth in the overall points at 828; Austrian Benjamin Raich
(1,310 points) has clinched the overall title which Miller won
last season; Svindal is second at 910 with Walchhofer third
(855).

He said getting his left knee, injured in December, back to full
health is a priority for Miller as he looks to continue racing.
“It’s my first focus. I’ve get my knee fixed,” Miller said.

McBride: Good race, bad mistake for Rahlves
“I think that’s a good load off Bode’s shoulders,” said John
McBride, men’s downhill/super G head coach. “He’s got to have a
pretty good feeling after this one. And I think ‘D’ [Rahlves] is
a little disappointed. He had a really good race, but he made a
big mistake up top and at this level you can’t do that.

“Stevie was skiing to the podium - he was leading, and had the
same split time as Bode, who came down later - until he went
out. He made it three-quarters of the way down and was taking
risks, but couldn’t close the deal. And ‘Becko’ got a great
experience, I think. He raced No. 12 [Tuesday] in training and
No. 1 again today, so he didn’t get much of a chance to see how
anyone else ran this course; he’s didn’t get a look at anyone
else’s tracks.”

McBride praised organizers for the course preparation. “They put
in some big jumps, maneuvering snow around and, really, they made
a boring downhill into an exciting setup. Good for them,” he
said.

World Cup Finals continue Thursday with super G for men and
women.

MEN’S ALPINE WORLD CUP FINALS
Are, SWE - March 15, 2006
Men’s Super G
1. Axel Lund Svindal, Norway, 1:42.40
2. Bode Miller, Bretton Woods, N.H., 1:42.60
3. Peter Fill, Italy, 1:42.70
4. Fritz Strobl, Austria, 1:42.88
5. Didier Defago, Switzerland, 1:43.05
-
7. Daron Rahlves, Sugar Bowl, Calif., 1:43.37
19. Chris Beckmann, Altamont, N.Y., 1:46.47
-
DNF:
Steve Nyman, Orem, Utah

For complete results:
http://fanmail.ussa.org/ct/ct.php?t=...99519fa7d20189

-- Best in the World --

[SKIdds]

Oh, so when he really wants it and trains hard he can make the podium. Too bad that isn't how he approached the whole season, but he did make it clear that results weren't what was most important to him this year (his words) .

Glad he performed well at the championships so far, but it doesn't make up for a vey disappointing olympics. Better late than never this year, though. Did have a great year last year.

I will give props to the US Ski Team the last few years. They have come a long way.

Oh, so when he really wants it and trains hard he can make the podium. Too bad that isn't how he approached the whole season, but he did make it clear that results weren't what was most important to him this year (his words) .

Glad he performed well at the championships so far, but it doesn't make up for a vey disappointing olympics. Better late than never this year, though. Did have a great year last year.

I will give props to the US Ski Team the last few years. They have come a long way.

If he wants to be a bad boy he should of stuck with snowboarding. He has no incentive he can live on the 5 million he has already earned for the rest of his life.

[Phineas]

I think Bode was right when he stated their are too many right wing republicans involved w/ the US Ski team.. them right wing conservative types take all the fun out of life!!

I think Bode will be the next Miach Black!