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A
crucial weekend for Bode Miller and
his rivals
By Patrick Lang
Chamonix,
France, Jan. 8th 2003.It’s a
key stage which is planned this weekend
in France’s Chamonix for the
overall World Cup contenders. At the
foot of the Mont-Blanc, the culminate
point of Europe with its 4807 meters,
the favourites of the 2004 overall
World Cup will battle for decisive
victories and points from Friday to
Sunday in two downhill races, a slalom
and a combined – the legendary
“Arlberg Kandahar” trophy.
Some of the ten leading racers in
the overall classification –
from Hermann Maier, 1st to Bode Miller,
10th – may lose their illusions
after Sunday’s slalom.
Hermann is relaxed
Among them, some of the finest champions
of the last years, as Austria’s
Benjamin Raich and Finland’s
Kalle Palander, both winners in Flachau
last weekend, Lasse Kjus, the very
consistent and ageless Ski Viking
or Stephan Eberharter, the defending
champion fighting for his first victory
of the season. Hans Knauss, the only
athlete this winter to have reached
the podium in three events, Michael
Walchhofer, dominant in downhill or
Daron Rahlves are more than outsiders
because there are still so many races
left on the 2004 calendar.
The most relaxed, and for sure the
most determined, is Hermann Maier,
who achieved an impressive season-start
with two wins in super-g and downhill
and two podiums. “I only consider
this as my comeback season –
I already reached much more than expected
so far”, said with modesty the
twin-brother of “The Herminator”.
What’s coming now is a real bonus.
I don’t think so much about the
Cup – not yet. Eventually next
year!”
“It’s an easy World Cup
season - in my best years, I would
already be 400 points ahead of my
closest rival,” he added with
a grin. “I feel strong in the
speed events but I’m far behind
in giant slalom. Well, it still could
work out fine, because two strong
specialties could be sufficient to
win this year. For sure, you don’t
need to score points in all events
this winter to win the title –
but the two combined from Chamonix
and Kitzbühel should be very
important.”
Lasse Kjus is impressive
“I would bet some money on Lasse
Kjus, who impresses me since Soelden,
and Benjamin Raich who can reach the
podium in three disciplines and in
the combined”. Maier won the
last downhill here in January 2000
after breaking an arm in 1997 while
competing in his very first World
Cup downhill.
In fact Kjus, the overall champion
in 1996 and 1999, had a chance to
win the last giant slalom in Flachau
before his mistake near the finish
line. His success in Val Gardena’s
super-g – ahead of the two great
heroes of the past season, Maier and
Eberharter - was a shock for many,
even for himself. “I’m quite
surprised,” he said in Italy.
“I’m skiing well and I’m
healthy, but the season is long and
I don’t know how much energy
I will retain after the coming month
and all the difficult “Classics”,”
commented the Scandinavian who turns
33 in a week. “I’m having
a great time but I will wait a few
weeks before thinking more about the
overall title. The next two combined
are crucial for all of us”.
One of the few skiers to have reached
the podium in all major downhills
in his career, Kjus never excelled
in Chamonix. He was 2nd in the combined
in 1994 while his friend Kjetil Aamodt,
side-lined by an injury at his ankle
since the season start in Soelden,
won the downhill.
Raich is going for it
Raich, an Olympic medallist in combined
in 2002, will only race the first
downhill which is valid for the Kandahar
combined with Sunday’s slalom.
It will give him some time to relax,
train and perfectly prepare that technical
race which could propel him at the
top of the standings. He will need
much aggressiveness to beat specialists
as Palander, Italy’s Giorgio
Rocca, his team-mate Manfred Pranger
or Ivica Kostelic.
Bode Miller fights for a sportive
resurrection this weekend after his
recent disasters in Madonna di Campiglio
and Flachau. Ironically, the 25-year-old
racer from New Hampshire seems in
excellent shape. He was extremely
fast and focused last weekend in Flachau
before skiing out in both races.
“It’s a continuation of
my series of bad luck” he said
afterwards in Austria. “I have
the feeling to be on the right tracks
and I remain confident. For the moment,
it’s essentially a matter of
ending my races. I need to find back
my form in more than one event to
be a serious contender in the overall
standings, but I’m working hard
on it”.
Miller continues to fight
A year ago, Miller was very consistent
– amassing many points with a
series of top-10 finished in all specialties.
So far, he only reached the podium
in giant slalom yet he was close to
win a downhill in Beaver Creek. “It
would have changed a lot for me”
Bode admits. “I also miss the
great downhill skis which I broke
that day during my crash.”
For the moment, Miller wants to continue
racing in all events – his goal
is to reach the levels of skiers as
Aamodt or Kjus which he already beat
last winter in combined at the 2003
World Championships.
Half of the Austrian team including
the reigning Olympic Champion Fritz
Strobl, extremely fast and confident
two weeks ago in Bormio, Rahlves and
France’s Antoine Dénériaz,
encouraged by thousand of supporters
after his recent win in Val Gardena,
and Sweden’s surprising Patrik
Jaerbyn, the fastest man on Wednesday,
are the other main candidates for
glory this weekend.
The Swiss team is under great pressure
after its miserable season start in
the speed events. Bruno Kernen and
his colleagues fight for their first
top-10 finish in downhill. The Swiss
head coach, Karl Freshner, may face
a even harder time in case of another
catastrophic weekend. In Flachau,
none of his racers made it among the
best 20! He could the greatest victime
of these races.
PL
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