Miller collects first Super-combined globe

Patrick Lang 03.02.2008 15:53 Uhr

Bode Miller skied in another world to win the last Super-combined of the season in Val d’Isère on Sunday as well as the specialty’s World Cup title. It was his third consecutive victory in that discipline this month after his triumphs at Kitzbühel and Chamonix. He increased his amounts of World Cup wins to 30 – as many as his main rival in the battle for the Overall World Cup title, Austria’s Benjamin Raich, 6th today.

For the first time in World Cup history, two Croats, Ivica Kostelic and Natko Zrncic-Dim, were on the podium in this order. Kostelic, already among the top-3 in Austria and France in recent weeks, only lost 38/100 of a second on Miller in the final standings thanks to his excellent slalom run in the afternoon. His team-mate was 99/100 behind Miller.

Austria’s Rainer Schoenfelder came in 4th ahead of Slovenia’s Ales Gorza. France’s Jean-Baptiste Grange, aiming for another podium in front of a huge crowd cheering for him, skied out in the slalom leg after achieving a strong downhill in the morning.

Switzerland’s Didier Cuche, who lost much time in the downhill run dominated by Miller, faster by 1,37 seconds than Didier Defago, only scored four points with his final 27th place.

Miller leads now the Overall standings by over one hundred points on Raich – yet there are still many races left on the calendar until the Finals at Bormio, so that the skier from New Hampshire doesn’t think for the moment about his chances to clinch another Overall title.

Yet the fantastic display of technical skiing given by the 30-year-old American in the morning downhill points to more Crystal globes this season. Winner of two downhill races this winter, in Bormio and Wengen, Miller crushed all opposition on the demanding “La Face” de Bellevarde. In the afternoon, he achieved a controlled slalom run to remain out of reach for his closest rivals.

“I did a couple of mistakes on the top part of the downhill and I was a little surprised to clock such a fast time at the arrival,” he said in the morning. “But my new skis were fantastic in the turns, giving me amazing speed when it mattered,” he added.

“This slope is for sure special, very demanding from top to bottom and I can imagine that the course setters design a straighter run next year for the World Championships. I don’t know yet if I’ll be back here in 2009,” he said later on during the post-race press conference.

“I didn’t take risks in the slalom, at one point I was even laughing at myself because I felt incredibly slow,” he also told the press. “My tactic today was to start the slalom with a big lead on the slalom skiers and do my best to come down without making major mistakes.”

“With the equipment I have now, I know I’m on the safe side without any big problem.

With the nearest slalom specialist, Swiss Daniel Albrecht, 1.73 seconds adrift, and home favourite Jean-Baptiste Grange 2.77 seconds off the pace, the skier from New Hampshire only needed an average performance in the afternoon slalom to secure victory. In fact, none of them were able to threaten him.

Only Kostelic, the fastest skier in the slalom run, came close to him. The skier from Zagreb was delighted by his achievement. “This is my best podium ever because I share it with another Croat who is also a very close friend,” the 2003 slalom World Champion said. “I know him since he was born. I enjoy training and racing with him, it’s really fun. It’s a great feeling to be part of a team now.”

“I’m glad that the FIS World Championships take place here next year because it’s a great hill. The downhill course is really challenging but also exciting even if it not so fast. It’s good to have it on the calendar this winter – it has its place aside easier races as Lake Louise or Chamonix.”

Miller can now set sights on his other goals, the Crystal globes awarded to the downhill and Overall World Cup winners. His main opponents in those standings were no serious contenders today in Val d’Isère.

Downhill World Cup leader Didier Cuche of Switzerland and versatile Austrian Benni Raich, 2nd in the World Cup Overall, both finished three seconds off the pace in the morning run.

After clinching the giant slalom globe in 2004, the Super-G and Overall titles in 2005, Miller was pleased to collect his first Super-combined trophy today.

“I’m happy to have won one of the globes I hadn’t won yet,” said Miller, who won another Super-G Cup last winter. “This year it has been an interesting battle for it with many top champions getting on the podium since the season start.”

Miller also credited his new organization for his strong actual form. “Things are really going well for me right now, we work very well together right now,” he said. “

The men’s World Cup moves to Garmisch-Partenkirchen for a slalom next weekend.