Gruber wins super-G 

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, ( 20/02/2005 12:47 ) Germany (AP) _ Christoph Gruber of Austria atoned for a dismal campaign at the recent Alpine Skiing World Championships, winning a men's World Cup super-G on Sunday. Gruber, who failed to qualify for the Austrian downhill squad at the worlds in Bormio and then went out in the first leg of the giant slalom, finally showed what he is capable of, negotiating the soft snow and variable visibility to win in 1 minute, 18.18 seconds. "After the worlds, I really tried to race hard and make up for my poor performance," Gruber said. Switzerland's Didier Defago finished second by the narrowest of margins, crossing the line just .01 behind. Francois Bourque climbed the podium for the first time in his career after clocking 1:18.22 for third place, giving Canada's men their first top-three finish in a speed event this season. Bourque had never even finished in the top 10 in World Cup competition. His previous best results were a pair of 17th places in the super-Gs at Kitzbuehel and Val Gardena this season. "When I joined the Canadian World Cup team, super-G was my worst discipline," said Bourque. "I guess now it's my best." Bode Miller of the United States, recently crowned super-G and downhill world champion, was fourth for the second day in a row after Saturday's downhill, finishing .21 off the pace. The result was sufficient for the 27-year-old American to overtake Hermann Maier atop the super-G standings. Miller now leads the discipline rankings with 375 points, just one ahead of Maier. "It's just one point," Miller said. "It doesn't mean that much. There are a couple of races left and it will probably go down to the wire. And Hermann Maier is skiing well." "It was tough to run from where we were today," Miller added, referring to the later starters. "I think with better conditions Hermann could have won today." Maier finished eighth in 1:18.54. Michael Walchhofer, the winner of Friday's and Saturday's downhill races, was fifth in 1:18.40. Only two super-G races remain this season, one in Kvitfjell, Norway, and the other at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.  

 

Walchhofer wins second downhill in two days   
 
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, ( 19/02/2005 13:51 ) Germany (AP) _ Michael Walchhofer won his second World Cup downhill in as many days Saturday, leading an Austrian sweep of the podium and closing in on the discipline title. Walchhofer, who easily won Friday's downhill when he finally mastered the difficult final FIS-Schneise turn, again tamed the 3,455-meter Kandahar course to post his second victory in 24 hours. He clocked 1 minute, 56.50 seconds for his third consecutive World Cup downhill victory. "It was bumpier and more difficult today," Walchhofer said. "But I did it and it is really satisfying after all the troubles I've had here in the past." Walchhofer finally shook off a long, troublesome trend of crashing out on the final turn here. In previous races, he'd crashed four consecutive times on the tricky FIS-Schneise, then last season lost a healthy advantage after skidding onto his backside in the turn and finished 16th. "It looks like I finally learned to ski that turn," Walchhofer joked. Teammate Mario Scheiber crossed second on Saturday in 1:56.59 for his first World Cup downhill podium finish, while reigning Olympic champion Fritz Strobl was third in 1:56.95. Newly crowned world downhill champion Bode Miller of the United States just missed the podium with a time of 1:57.03, while teammate Daron Rahlves finished fifth, .57 behind. "I made two mistakes, one that cost me almost a second," said Miller, who led at the first two intervals in the previous day's downhill but lost time after going wide coming out of the bothersome FIS-Schneise turn and settled for third. "The way I've been skiing these days, it's pretty disappointing to be making those kinds of mistakes. It's pretty frustrating." Walchhofer, 29, has finished on the podium in every downhill this season _ except in the wind-skewed race in Val Gardena, Italy, where he was 20th. His latest victory leaves him with 631 points in the World Cup downhill standings, 143 ahead of his nearest challenger, Miller. Another Austrian, Johann Grugger, is third on 383. Only terrible misfortune could prevent Walchhofer from winning the prestigious downhill crystal globe now, with just two downhill races remaining and 200 points up for grabs. The two races left are in Kvitfjell, Norway, and the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. "For every downhiller, the World Cup title is a dream and at the moment it looks very good for me," Walchhofer said. "If I ski the next two races like I can, it looks good for me." Miller is Walchhofer's only realistic threat. The 27-year-old American won the season's opening two downhills and snatched the downhill title from Walchhofer at the world championships in Bormio two weeks ago after also winning the super-G gold medal. Rahlves had widely been expected to take over the downhill title this season after finishing second to Eberharter the last two seasons. But a bad crash in a giant slalom in Adelboden put a dent in his campaign. "It's not possible really for me now," Rahlves said. "Walchhofer's been crushing it in every single race. "I've been fast but just it's little things here and there. Looking back on it, it's tough to take." 

Michael Walchhofer wins men's downhill 
 
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, ( 18/02/2005 15:54 ) Germany (AP) _ Michael Walchhofer will be a tough man to beat for the World Cup downhill title. Walchhofer's second consecutive downhill victory put even more space between him and newly crowned world champion Bode Miller, Johann Grugger and Daron Rahlves. "I am going to fight Bode Miller for the downhill title," Walchhofer said. "I remember seeing Stephan Eberharter ski for three years in a league almost of his own and winning the title three years in a row. "I would be very proud if could win the downhill globe and take over from Eberharter because it would mean I am in the same league." The 29-year-old Walchhofer has finished on the podium in every downhill this season _ except in the wind-skewed race in Val Gardena, Italy, where he was 20th _ and continued that trend Friday, delivering a near-perfect run down the soft Kandahar course, then mastering the final FIS-Schneise turn to win in one minute, 57.79 seconds. The win padded Walchhofer's lead atop the World Cup downhill standings, where he sits with 531 points. Miller is second, 93 points behind, while Grugger is third at 371 and Rahlves is fourth with 309. Only three downhill races remain this season. Miller is Walchhofer's biggest threat. The 27-year-old American won the season's opening two downhills and finished third the last two races. In addition, he snatched the downhill title from Walchhofer at the world championships in Bormio two weeks ago, after also winning the super-G gold medal. Rahlves had widely been expected to take over the downhill title this season, after finishing second to Eberharter the last two seasons. But a bad crash in a giant slalom in Adelboden put a dent in his campaign. He is 222 points behind and will have to win or finish second in all three remaining races and hope those ahead of him in the standings do very poorly. "Anything is possible," Rahlves said. "After Adelboden, I had to miss the downhill in Wengen, and Walchhofer won there. "It's tough to play catch up. Walchhofer is hot, he's got momentum going, he's consistent. He's pretty much got it in the bag, I think." Walchhofer was even able to shake off a long, troublesome trend of crashing out on the final turn here. He had crashed four consecutive years on the tricky FIS-Schneise, then last season lost a healthy advantage after skidding onto his backside in the turn and finished back in 16th position. "It was becoming unbearable for me," Walchhofer said. "I vowed if I failed again this year on that turn, I would rename my Hotel Zauchensee Zentral the hotel FIS-Schneise. "I think now that I've successfully made it and I won, the turn on the course should be renamed the Walchhofer curve." Walchhofer won in front of Hermann Maier, the surprise winner of the giant slalom in Bormio, by a stunning .99 seconds. Miller had led at the first two intervals but lost time and speed after going wide on a gate coming out of the bothersome FIS-Schneise turn and settled for third in 1:58.92. The victory saved face for Austria's men, who failed to capture any of the speed titles at the recent world championships. Walchhofer finished third in the world championship downhill race behind Miller and his teammate, runner-up Rahlves. The Austrian also took silver behind Miller in the super-G in Bormio, while Benjamin Raich of Austria, the American's toughest rival in the chase for the overall crown, was a surprising third. Miller regained an advantage of over 100 points over Raich in the race for the overall title. Miller now leads with 1,153 points, 131 more than Raich, a technical specialist who finished a solid 11th for his best career result in the downhill. "I am now going to race all the races that remain this season to try and beat Bode for the overall title," Raich said. Grugger, the winner of back-to-back World Cup downhills in Bormio and Chamonix, was fourth Friday in 1:59.02, while Rahlves was fifth in 1:59.11.  
 
World cup Leader

Miller Bode
12.10.1977 (Franconia)
Ski: Atomic
 
  Miller Bode  1253
  Raich Benjamin  1062
  Walchhofer Michael  910
  Maier Hermann  843
  Rahlves Daron  646
  Defago Didier  506
  Grugger Johann  484
  Gruber Cristoph  427
  Kjus Lasse  425
  Grandi Thomas  421

Next Races

25.02.2005 San Sicario (ITA) SG
26.02.2005 Kranjska Gora (SLO) GS
26.02.2005 San Sicario (ITA) DH
27.02.2005 Kranjska Gora (SLO) SL
27.02.2005 San Sicario (ITA) K
05.03.2005 Kvitfjell (NOR) DH
06.03.2005 Kvitfjell (NOR) SG 

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