WHITEFISH, Mont. — Daron Rahlves had a simple strategy for the men's downhill in the U.S. Alpine nationals.
"Hammer it," he said after his victory Friday. "I wanted to go out and push it and just feel strong on my skis."
That also summarizes the season for Rahlves, who won the super-G world title last month in St. Anton, beating Austrian superstars Hermann Maier and Stephan Eberharter on their home snow.
Despite the world championship, Rahlves wouldn't give himself passing marks for the season. The former world jet-ski champion from Sugar Bowl, Calif., who won Friday's downhill race in 1 minute, 24.78 seconds, wanted more.
"I was expecting more to happen," he said. "I went into the season expecting top fives and podiums all year. In January, I just said, 'I'll ski it hard and see what happens."'
Casey Puckett of Aspen, Colo., was second in the national downhill and Chad Fleischer of Vail, Colo., was third.
"I know I can win in Salt Lake. It's just a matter of doing my thing. When events get close, I'm never thinking about winning. I'm just thinking about skiing fast," Rahlves said.
Clark and Mendes celebrated their podium by showing off T-shirts, made by teammate Megan Gerety, that read, "K.I.T. Keep it Together." It plays off a slogan from a comedy film the three enjoyed during their travels.
"That was our motto for the end of the season," Clark explained.
It worked, producing Clark's first career World Cup downhill victory last month in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. But she said this week's nationals couldn't come at a better time.
"I'm ready for it to end," Clark said. "I'm tired."