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LAKE
PLACID, New York (AP) _ Wind, rain and a tricky Whiteface Mountain
course were not enough to slow Bode Miller.
Miller easily won his first U.S. Alpine National Championships super
giant slalom title on Thursday in a race that 47 competitors failed
to finish. Skiing first after a two-hour delay caused by a
steady downpour, Miller traversed Whiteface Mountain in 1 minute,
18.99 seconds. Jakub Fiala was second, .31 behind, and defending
national Super G champ Marco Sullivan and Scott Macartney finished
tied for third, another .20 back, at 1:19.50.
The rain delay forced organizers to postpone the women's Super G
until Friday, but the men were given the go-ahead at about midday,
even though rain was pelting the course when Miller took off. As
usual, he was undaunted.
"It was windy when I left, but it wasn't as bad you'd think," said
Miller, who finished fourth in Wednesday's downhill. "And the rain
beads off (the visor) pretty good, it's so fast up there. The
visibility was good. You could see the snow really well, it was
surprising. And there's a wicked tailwind blowing straight down the
hill. I love this. It's fun."
Not for Erik Schlopy, Thomas Vonn, Steven Nyman and the 44 other
racers who skied off course and did not finish.
Schlopy, bronze medalist in the giant slalom at the World
Championships last month in St. Moritz, saw his day end at
the fourth gate. "There was a three-gate corridor, and then a big
turn," Schlopy said. "There was just a lot of speed. I wasn't
really aware there was going to be that much speed coming in."
Nyman, coming off a victory in the downhill, had trouble
with his line. Miller, who finished second to Austria's Stephan
Eberharter in the World Cup overall standings, won his
first Super G title at nationals. The only race he hasn't won is the
downhill. "It was challenging, and with the snow conditions and
visibility it was doubly challenging," Miller said. "I think a lot
of the guys just weren't used to that. We had a lot of that in the
World Cup this year, so I was prepared for it."
Fiala, who was seventh last year in the discipline at nationals,
acknowledged he made a crucial error. "I made the mistake of trying
to wipe my goggles halfway down, right before the jump," he said.
"That definitely cost me some time because it actually made it worse
for a few gates until it blew off again. "Anyone who went fast today
was pretty impressive. Bode's obviously had a fantastic season, and
to be second behind him is not that bad."
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