Men's Super-G

20th victory for Hermann Maier

Sestriere, March 11th . Hermann Maier achieved one of the most impressive performances of his career in winning the last Super-G race of the season with an solid margin on his closest rival, teammate Stephan Eberharter. He beat the downhill World Cup champion by 63/100 of a second while Christoph Gruber was 3rd at 75/100.

Benjamin Raich was fourth despite a major mistake in the final schuss where he almost crashed. Bode Miller was less lucky: he skied out at the middle of the course after losing much time on the leaders. He would not have finished among the top-15 in that race.

With this 20th World Cup win in Super-G - and his 47th in total since February 1997 - Maier increased his lead in the overall World Cup standings. He leads now by 42 points over Eberharter, and 152 over Raich. Miller is now 4th, 167 points behind. Maier only needs a 7th place in the giant slalom on Saturday to nail his fourth overall title!

Maier's best race

"This was for sure my best race since my comeback and maybe my best Super-G ever," said a very happy Maier after the award ceremonies. "This time everything went on fine, my skis were perfect. Yesterday we made the wrong decision about my skis and I had no chance to finish among the top 10. Normally the overall Cup should already be in my bag, now I have to wait until the last day. I guess the media will be pleased by this story!"

"I was really upset yesterday but I managed to find back my momentum and my confidence. Ski racing is a mental sport, most of the races are decided in the head. As soon as I cooled down, I started to focus on today's race. That's the way I won the Olympics in Nagano after my bad crash in the downhill. But I'm very proud of today's performance, it means a lot to me."

"In the giant slalom I aim for another top-10 place. My form should allow me to finish between the 5th and the 10th place. 7th would of course be perfect but it will be difficult because there are so many excellent skiers in that event. Raich is capable to win both races, he showed again that he is in good shape. I also expect Bode Miller to take risks on Saturday, the GS course is quite demanding and should suit his style. "

A tough decision for Miller

In fact Miller may have a tough decision to take in two days - to ski for the GS World Cup title or try as hard as possible to win to get back in the race for the overall title. His advance on Kalle Palander in the GS standings is 61 points. The double World Champion will probably compete with his usual determination - the Bode Miller way!

Raich too is ready for a a great race on Saturday. The Tyrolian was pleased to have ended the race despite his problems but also disappointed to have missed a great chance to reach his first Super-G podium ever. "It's difficult to make a choice," he said. "Of course I am glad to be healthy because it could have been a bad crash in that final pitch but on the other hand I was really close to get on the podium. I was very fast before my mistake. But I want to remain relaxed and confident. The favorite is Maier and I have nothing to lose in taking all risk during the weekend."

Stephan was relaxed

Stephan Eberharter too feels relaxed after achieving his best Super-G race of the winter. "I had a strong run today, I made a few mistakes but I'm basically happy to end the season with two more podiums," he said. "I'll again try my best on Saturday and then we will see how it turns out."

No race are scheduled on Fridaz. Saturdaz a men's giant slalom will take place as well as a women's slalom.

Philippe Lang