Bormio, Italy, Feb. 3rd - Austria's Michael Walchhofer, the defending downhill World Champion, confirmed his strong form in dominating the combined downhill raced this morning on the spectacular Stelvio course in Bormio. After an almost flawless run, the downhill World Cup leader beat by 1,04 seconds Italy's surprising Peter Fill while Switzerland Didier Defago came in 3rd at 1,20 seconds.

Two other great favourites of the combined finished 4th and 5th - Norway's Kjetil Aamodt and Austria's Benjamin Raich. Aamodt, who aims to clinch his 20th medal at World Championships and Olympics only lost 1,52 on Walchhofer while Raich is at 1,65.

Miller the hero

But the hero of the big crowd which attended the event was once more Bode Miller, the defending combined World Champion. After a smooth start, the skier from New Hampshire caught an edge after hitting a rut and lost his left ski.

Yet the acrobatic American, who proved more than once his incredible balance and a great sense for spectacular recoveries, avoided a bad crash and achieved an amazing one-legged descent which created great enthusiasm among the numerous spectators sitting in stadium at the arrival. After more than a minute though, Bode Miller finally fell down just before the finish, skiing off course under the applause of the public.

“I felt fine this morning and I was ready for a good race but then I lost my ski and there wasn't anything I could do about it,” he said afterwards.
The American explained he caught an edge as he landed after a first jump and lost the ski on his second impact. He also said his equipment was not to blame, however. “The binding was fine. It was ok with the first hit and it released on the second," he added.

Michael was happy

Michael Walchhofer himself was impressed by Bode's demonstration. “I'm sorry for what happened to Bode, he was superb even with a single ski,” he added. “This shows once more that you have to be very concentrated because anything can happen on course between the start and the finish line.”

“I had a really good race, I went for it and this result reinforces my confidence for Saturday's race which is my main goal here. This afternoon, I'll give my best in the slalom, but I don't expect anything special. Slalom is tough, especially with a downhill race in my legs.”

The undisputed favourite for the combined crown is Benjamin Raich, the winner in Wengen “Super-combined” last month. His delay on Walchhofer should not be such a problem - he should be able to make-up more than a second per run on the speed specialists.

But the Tyrolian wants to remain careful and focused. “I had a strong downhill run but it's easy to make mistakes in two slalom runs,” he said. “Michael will certainly fight hard to win this, it will be very interesting until the end.”

Peter Fill and Kjetil Aamodt are more than two great outsiders. Fill, who had an impressive downhill run, used to be an outstanding slalom skier, and Aamodt's experience in great battles for medals is unique. He knows that today's event is his best chance to win a medal during these Championships. Since 1991, the Norwegian grabbed at least one medal at World Championships - including three in gold in combined form 1997 to 2001!

Also ready for a great slalom race this afternoon are Italy's Giorgio Rocca, 18th at 2,54 seconds and Mario Matt, 19th at 2,73.
Matt won silver in 2001 at St Anton.


Patrick Lang