PARK CITY— Bode Miller wasn't surprised by his win Saturday in the opening World Cup giant slalom for America's Opening. For that matter, few of those in attendance — spectators, coaches and other racers — were either.
It was predicted . . . even expected. In the giant slalom there is no one faster, nor is there anyone more confident or determined to win.
He won the opening GS two weeks ago in Soelden, Austria. He won again Saturday, and by nearly a full second. Put in perspective, a second was all that separated the top 14 skiers after the first of two runs. Miller was second at that point, 11-hundredths behind Hans Knauss of Australia.
His second run was typical of Miller's style, which is skiing right on the ragged edge of disaster. The slightest hesitation, the smallest error, the tiniest miscalculation could have put him down and out of the race.
Miller's time for two runs was two minutes, 20.84 seconds. Second was Andreas Schifferer in 2:21.70, and third was Knauss in 2:21.84, both are from Austria.
The sweetness of Miller's win, the first World Cup win by an American at an American ski resort in 20 years, was soured by the injury to Erik Schlopy, his teammate and good friend who was considered the one skier who could give the United States a one-two finish.
The preliminary diagnosis was a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee. The snow caught his ski, which caused the injury, and then he fell . . . "(the snow) grabbed the ski. I could feel (the knee) go," he said.
He started 11th and was one-hundredth of a second ahead of the first 10 skiers at the first clock. Shortly after that he fell.
The injury to Schlopy gave Miller something he usually doesn't lack — motivation.
"I don't need to be motivated. I'm always motivated. No one wants to finish more or faster, and that really comes through like today when conditions are tough," Miller said in his usual confident tone.
But seeing Schlopy injured, he admitted, allowed him to dip into his reserves for a touch more aggression.
"I went out of the gate ready to attack the course, no matter what," he said of his winning second run. "And it's a good thing I did because the course was really intimidating down the (steep) pitch. It was bumpy and chewed up, and I couldn't see a thing. You see a lot, but you can't see the ground. It looks perfectly smooth, but with the head bouncing and the ski bouncing, it's a tough thing to stay aggressive," he admitted.
An equally amazing story focused on Hermann Maier of Austria. Once called the greatest skier of his time, Maier was hit by a car while riding a motorcycle before the 2002 Olympics. Doctors said he would likely never ski again. He was in 4th place after the first run and ended up 7th overall in only his second GS since the accident.
"Sixteenth (in his first race) and now 7th, I'm getting better," the "Hermannator" said. "It's not too painful to ski, but my confidence is not so good. I lost a lot of training. But, for sure, it's coming." Maier came into the race with a sprained rib suffered in an accident two weeks ago.
The Americans' only other bright spot was the 13th place finish by Dane Spencer, who started in 40th position.
The story for this race, though, was Miller. It was six years ago, on this same hill, that he skied in his first World Cup event.
He said conditions for Saturday's race were very similar to his first run-in with the hill when he started 69th and finished 11th.
"This hill brings out the best and worst in me," he said with a slight smile. Meaning, he added, that it lends itself to his style of skiing — fast and risky. He either does well, as he did in his first and last races, but it can also throw him, as it did last year in both the slalom and GS.
He also explained that he felt it was the maturing he's undergone since his first race at Park City that enabled him to win Saturday.
"I could have gone faster on the second run, but if I had I wouldn't have made it. As it was I was right on the edge of making (the finish). That's where judgment comes in. I needed to make those judgment calls on every single turn the whole way down," he said.
"I was crashing a lot when I was 19, 20, 21 and 22. In that time I got a lot of tactical information that allowed me to make good decisions the way I did today," he said.
The men's slalom will start today at 10 a.m. at the Park City Mountain Resort. Miller is not expected to win this race. Since his outstanding slalom year in 2002, Miller has signed with a new ski sponsor and has had trouble finding skis to suit his aggressive style. This past summer he tried 38 different skis and said things are coming together and he feels more confident this year.
At this point the U.S. team is hoping only that more than two of its skiers get in the top 30, minus Miller and Schlopy.
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