Men’s giant Kranjska Gora

Bode Miller wins again in Kranjska Gora

The US Ski team celebrated his third victory of the winter today in Kranjska Gora’s giant slalom won by Bode Miller with an impressive advance on Austria’s Christian Mayer and Finland’s Sami Uotila.
Two weeks ago, he already won a GS in Alta Badia and his teammate Daron Rahlves a downhill in Bormio!
Their friend Erik Schlopy was a happy 4th – his best result since the 2001 season where he reached several times the podium in that event.
Schlopy tied with Austria’s Benjamin Raich, the fastest skier in the first run. Last year, Raich beat Miller in that competition!
It’s the seventh consecutive race without an Austrian victory this season. Since the last success of Stephan Eberharter in the downhill at Val d’Isère, no Austrian managed to win a men’s World Cup race!

Miller beat Austria’s veteran Mayer – a former winner here in 1998 and 2000 by 83/100 of a second. Fifteen racers are classified behind the US skier in the same margin which proves the level of his performance on the treacherous Podkoren course which brought him more luck this time.
A year ago, the 25-year-old US racer from New Hampshire finished 2nd in a giant slalom won by Austria’s Benjamin Raich - Bode didn’t like it at all.
So this time Miller even tried harder – and blew out the rest of the field. Raich, who had a strong lead after the first run, lost over a second on him in the afternoon after waiting long minutes at the start after the crash of France’s Vincent Miller, who race in front of him.

This second season’s victory helped Bode Miller to take the lead in both the Giant Slalom and the Overall World Cup standings.
Switzerland’s Michael von Grünigen and Austria’s Stephan Eberharter, the previous leaders, didn’t find their best rhythm in the afternoon on the steep and difficult Slovenian course.
Von Grünigen ended 11th and Eberharter a far 24th – over two seconds behind Miller.
“I don’t think I could have been faster this afternoon, I skied at my limits and it was really going for it” said Bode with a smile.
“It was the same situation than a year ago – but I was not ready to finish once more behind Raich” he added with a grin.
“I was even more motivated when he heard that Erik Schlopy had a great second run. Many years ago, we promised each other to get once together on a World Cup podium. He reached a few podiums two years ago when I was not skiing so fast as now. Last year he had some problems but now we are ready to keep our word”.
“In our team, we cooperate a lot and help each other a lot – this is a major difference with the other teams. In downhill, it already boosted Daron Rahlves and myself this winter and now it’s also happening in the technical events”.

Miller, who has already won a total of six World Cup races so far in two years, is the first American since Phil Mahre to win this giant slalom. Yet Phil, the Overall World Cup Champion from 1981 to 1983 and slalom Olympic Champion in 1984, won this race on another slope in 1982.
Bode aims to imitate him and also win several Overall titles as well as many gold medals in future seasons.
“My goal is to become an all-round skier able to win in all specialties” Bode often says. “Only the complete racers are really great and I admire them a lot. Champions as Kjetil Aamodt, Lasse Kjus, Marc Girardelli who scored top-3 finishes in all events are for me the heroes of the sport.
I’m very proud to have done so well here and in Alta Badia beside finishing several times among the top-10 in downhill and Super-G”.
“I’m not skiing better this year than in the past, yet in a more efficient way thanks to my new skis. They make me feel really sure to achieve my potential in each competition. It’s a huge difference I can tell you!”
“To win the Overall Cup is a big goal for me, but I first of all think to give my best in each race. Single victories are very exciting too! In Sunday’s slalom, I would like to get back on the podium too after my disappointing results in Park City and Sestriere”.

Among Bode toughest rivals in the slalom, Croatia’s Ivica Kostelic, 3rd last year and leader in the slalom standings after his win in Sestriere last month. The skier from Zagreb will be supported by hundreds of noisy supporters. Rainer Schoenfelder, the winner in park City, France’s Olympic Champion Jean Pierre Vidal and Benjamin Raich will try hard to prevent him to achieve this impressive performance.