Miller 2nd in Val Gardena Super G
VAL GARDENA, Italy (Dec. 16) - Olympic champion and two-time Audi FIS Alpine World Cup overall winner Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) battled a shortened Val Gardena super G to finish second behind Swiss young gun Beat Feuz. It was Miller's third super G podium at the Italian resort after winning the 2006 race and taking second in 2007. Miller, who won the Audi Birds of Prey downhill two weeks ago, now sits fourth in the overall World Cup standings behind Ted Ligety (Park City, UT), who did not race. Olympic super G bronze medalist Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) was 20th as Wiley Maple (Aspen, CO) scored the first World Cup points of his career with 29th.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Bode Miller was second in the Val Gardena super G for the 73rd Audi FIS Alpine World Cup podium of his career
- It was Miller's third super G podium in Val Gardena after winning in 2006 and finishing second in 2007
- The start was lowered due to high wind at the top of the slope
- Miller is now fourth behind Ted Ligety in the World Cup overall standings
- Andrew Weibrecht was 20th
- Wiley Maple scored the first World Cup points of his career with 29th after starting 61
- Swiss upstart Beat Feuz won the race with Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud in third
- The famed Saslong Classic downhill is slated for Saturday in Val Gardena
QUOTES
Bode Miller
I made some mistakes on the course and there's not a ton too it. Also, when I went the visibility was pretty bad. If you get a little sun, it can make a huge difference on a course like this. On this particular course you always have to wait until the end because there's guys that can come from the way back and stomp it in.
There's a wind that can go straight up the hill sometimes and I don't know if that's what got me. You saw Ganong get pounded by wind up there. At the top I didn't have any errors, but at the bottom, I made some mistakes on the last 10 gates that cost me some.
The super G here isn't usually a good indicator for the downhill. There's a lot of variables here - start position, weather - everything makes a difference. I think we have the skis that can do it and I have the line that know I need to ski. This is one of my favorite areas in Europe to ski.
Sasha Rearick - Head Coach
I thought we had it in the bag for a while, then Feuz out skiied us. But Bode is skiing well and with a lot of confidence. Besides a couple of direct lines in a few spots, it was great skiing by Bode.
I'm really excited for Wiley Maple. He got the call last night that he was going to get a start here because of the way he's been training and he made it count. He scored his first World Cup points and he did it with aggressive skiing through the Ciaslot.
This hasn't necessarily been a good hill in the past for Weibrecht, but today he showed some aggressive skiing and I'm proud of his performance.
TV
Friday, Dec. 16 at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET on Universal Sports
OFFICIAL RESULTS
http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&raceid=66766