KVITFJELL, Norway -- Georg Streitberger of Austria held off overall leader Bode Miller to win the men’s super-G for his first World Cup victory Sunday, edging the American by 0.20 seconds.

Streitberger went down the 2,574-meter Olympic course in 1 minute, 26.68 seconds.

“It was a good run for me,” said Streitberger, who was only 21st in the super-G standings going into the race. “My skis were very good. The speed was OK from the top to the finish.”

Miller’s result matched his previous best in the super-G this season.

“The super-G has been tough for me this year,” he said. “I’ve made big mistakes, I’ve been changing skis a lot.”

The 30-year-old Miller did not ski aggressively on a hill where four Americans have won Olympic gold and World Cup races since the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics.

“I wanted to make sure that I didn’t take too much risk today,” Miller said. “I didn’t take a lot of risk at all. I still made a mistake on the bottom that cost me some time, but I don’t think I would have won anyway.

“It’s a little bit tough to ski that way for me. But it’s also good to be second. You can’t be too worried about it.”

Miller increased his lead in the overall standings ahead of Didier Cuche of Switzerland, who finished in third place 0.32 seconds behind Streitberger.

Miller now has 1,363 points. Cuche is 185 points behind.

Cuche did close in on the super-G title, though. With one race left, he has 340 points while second-place teammate Christoph Gruber has 251.

“I was pushing,” Cuche said. “I made a mistake every day. It seems he (Miller) is not making mistakes and that’s the key. I make mistakes because I’m pushing and I know I have to push if I want to beat him and stay in contact with the overall.”

Only six races remain on the schedule, including four at the World Cup finals in Bormio, Italy, later this month.

Miller, who in 2005 became the first American since Phil Mahre in 1983 to win the men’s overall title, had a great weekend in Norway — finishing on the podium in three straight races.

On Friday, Miller was runner-up in the first of two downhills. On Saturday, he won the second downhill.

“The results show a little bit better than maybe where I’m skiing right now,” Miller said. “A lot of guys either don’t take risks or they take risks and they make mistakes. Both yesterday and today Didier had significant mistakes and was right behind me. He could have won both yesterday and today with just a little bit of luck.

“The results could have been worse, but I’ve been consistent. The skis are really working well right now and that makes a big difference.”

The race was delayed more than 30 minutes after Matthias Lanzinger crashed near the finish. The Austrian, who started 30th in a field of 62, injured his legs and was taken to a hospital in Lillehammer.

By Stephan Nasstrom
AP Sports Writer

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