Adelboden, Red bib for Bode Miller

Bode Miller could also feel as a winner after that race which he could have easily clinched without a series of difficult moments on the course. In the first run, the skier from New Hampshire skied well at the top of the treacherous course, but almost crashed out after hitting a gate.
He lost a pole in that incident - quite a handicap on such a difficult slope. Nevertheless, he came in 4th, only losing 13/100 of a second on Blardone and 21/100 on Defago. In the afternoon, he was again skiing with great determination when he almost lost his balance coming onto the last pitch. “I don't know how I managed to recover from this and make the next gate, it's quite incredible,” he said afterwards with a great smile. “It was really brutal. I think I would have crashed on any other slope but here it's so steep that I could just slip into the next turn.”
“I'm really pleased by this result considering all the problems I had. It was a very exciting race, a true Classic. It's my first podium in that giant slalom race.”
“It will be a race to remember,” Miller added. “Today we saw pieces of the best GS skiing the world has ever seen. It takes a really challenging hill to bring out such great skiing and great skiers. The classic hills like Adelboden really know how to put on a race, and it was exciting to be out there.”
988 points for Bode

Miller, who reinforced his lead in Overall World Cup rankings at 988, attributed his mistakes - and his recovery from them - to the return of his favorite skis which were damaged when he hit a rock in Alta Badia, Italy, in December during his first run. He rode the skis to victory in Soelden, Austria, at the season-opener then again in Val d'Isère, France.

“I was happy I got to break those skis out again,” Miller said at the press conference. “The problem is that they are so much different - they are faster and more aggressive in the turns than any of the other skis I've been on since and I just wasn't used to them anymore. I got much closer to the gates than with my previous GS skis used last weeks.”

The skis particularly came into play during the second run near the bottom when he hooked his inside edge while transitioning through a turn and lost some speed. Luckily, explained Miller, he was in the air at the time and could adjust his skis back under him before putting them back on the ground.
“I was super psyched to make that recovery and make that next gate,” said Miller. “Now I'm looking forward for the races in Wengen. It's another great Classic. I hope to be able to find again my best rhythm in downhill because it's such a wonderful piste.”

Patrick Lang