WENGEN, Switzerland – Didier Defago of Switzerland won a World Cup downhill on the classic Lauberhorn on Saturday. Bode Miller, who had won this race the last two times, finished second and Marco Sullivan of the United States was third.

Defago finished in 2 minutes, 31.98 seconds on the 2.8-mile course, the ski circuit's longest and most demanding. Miller was 0.20 seconds behind.

Miller, the defending overall World Cup champion, is winless in 19 races. He is still bothered by a left ankle injury sustained when he clipped a gate in the downhill last month in Beaver Creek, Colo.

"I have both physical and mental pain when I ski right now," Miller said. "Over the course of a long time, that gets a little bit annoying.

"It's only in the ski boot that it hurts. It's a little bit frustrating on these downhills where there's a lot of really hard left turns. I just don't have the power to do what I want to do."

The 31-year-old New Hampshire skier described his season's results as "pretty poor, especially considering the way I've been skiing."

Miller and Sullivan reached their goal of making the podium of a downhill together. The 28-year-old Californian said he had extra motivation to ski well in front of his family.

"My dad and sister came over from the U.S. to watch this race, and my dad has never been to Europe before," Sullivan said. "It's a special day."

Defago won his second career World Cup and first in downhill. His previous win came in a super-G in 2002, and he had never been on the podium in a downhill.

"Victory has a special taste," Defago said. "For it to come as a win, and in Switzerland on top of that, it's incredible."

Michael Walchhofer of Austria retained the lead in the downhill standings despite finishing 26th, while Miller climbed from sixth to second.

Benjamin Raich of Austria, who did not race Saturday, retains the lead in the overall standings ahead of Jean-Baptiste Grange of France, who also sat out. They will be among the favorites in the slalom on Sunday.

The downhill marked a successful comeback for Canada's Jan Hudec, who injured his right knee in training on the Lauberhorn a year ago. The 27-year-old Hudec placed eighth, 1.25 behind Defago.

"It's an amazing start for me," Hudec said. "I'm really thrilled. It's a tough place to come back."

The Lauberhorn was bumpy and hard in most places, although bright sunshine softened the snow in the opening sections.

"Over the days, it got a little bit uneven," said Marco Buechel, who was sixth. "The bumpier it is, the more tired you get. But Wengen is always a challenge no matter how the snow is."

By GRAHAM DUNBAR
Associated Press
17 January, 2009