Miller returns to form to destroy rest of field in Wengen
Bode Miller admitted that while many of the racers are starting to feel the effects of the gruelling World Cup tour, he is feeling better with each day. The often outspoken American let his ski racing do the talking and showed the world of ski racing that he is back. Miller put in a devastating Downhill section of the Super Combined to leave the rest of the field playing catch up. There is no pleasing the perfectionist that Miller is as he still felt he could have gone better and that mistakes had been made. Such is the dedication and determination of Miller. While Miller put in a fast downhill run, none of the downhill specialists were able to come close, Didier Cuche was a sizeable 1.59 seconds back and decided not to do the slalom. With Benni Raich down in 12th place and Silvan Zurbriggen in 10th, it looked as if Carlo Janka would be the man that Miller had to beat in the slalom section.
Miller started his season late and has admitted that he has been playing catch up in terms of having the right equipment. Excuse the pun but this does not bode well for the rest of the field! Starting six, Miller put in a smooth and clean run. Despite this he felt that on a number of turns he was not in great shape, especially Canadian Corner and coming into the ‘S’ bends near the finish. “You would have thought that after all the years that I have been coming here, I would be able to get it right,” he joked in the press conference after the race! Miller killed the Downhill, even if it was not as perfect as he would have liked. Almost seven tenths ahead of second placed Carlo Janka gave him a sizable safety margin yet with the form he has been in in Slalom, anything was possible. At over a minute and three quarters, this was a long course.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Benni Raich is an accomplished downhiller and while he was not ecstatic about his downhill run, 12th place was his reward for this section. Raich does not lie down and put down a slalom run that obliterated much of the opposition. From 12th, he jumped to the top of the leaderboard with a devastating run, but with such a deficit on Miller, the question was would it be good enough to maintain his lead in the discipline standings? Before Raich could get too comfortable in the winners enclosure, Silvan Zurbriggen, came down and posted a faster combined time. With nine racers faster on the downhill section still to go, the tension was constantly rising. Svindal failed to carve out a fast enough time and slotted in down the field. With just two to go, Zurbriggen still held the lead; could Janka or Miller dislodge the Swiss from another win?
Janka, while not a slalom specialist is still pretty accomplished on the short boards. Zurbriggen is a slalom specialist and skied composed and strong. While Raich had been ahead at the mid run split, Zurbriggen took the bottom section by the scruff of the neck and stole the lead from the Austrian. Janka was a tad fortunate with his run as he just edged ahead of Zurbriggen. With a lead of 1.27 seconds on Zurbriggen, Janka was able to ski with in his means. In the end it was only just enough and he crossed the line five hundredths ahead of his compatriot. Then it was Miller’s turn!
Miller’s speed has never been doubted. His ability to finish slalom runs was questionable but this was the 2010 version of Bode Miller. This was the new and improved version. Miller is renown for tinkering with his kit and had spent much of the last 48 hours playing around with settings on his boots and skis. Miller admitted that unlike most of the other racers, he had used the same boots for both the slalom and downhill. While this was mainly due to his left ankle problems, it had worked for him.
Miller was not as fast as Raich nor Zurbriggen yet had enough of an advantage to hold off Janka and claim his first win since Kvitfjell in 2008, his 32nd World Cup win. Having started the season late and out of shape, Miller is coming up the rails ready for the Olympics. While he is still tinkering with his kit; Miller admitted that the first time he had put his slalom skis on was as he went into the start hut – impressive form! Miller’s ability to carry speed down courses is legendary. Miller now has three wins in Wengen, three runners up spots and a couple of thirds to boot, all since 2002!
Raich’s fourth place meant that he retained the lead in the Super Combined from Janka by six points with Miller in third and also retains the lead in the overall again over Janka.
Race Result (Link to FIS web site)
Listen to Bode Miller at the press conference and other audio files (courtesy of USSA)
