LAKE LOUISE, Alberta (AP) – Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal won the men’s season-opening super giant slalom Sunday for his first career World Cup victory, taking advantage of a big slip by Bode Miller.
Miller had his second straight disappointing day at the spot where, a year ago, he swept downhill and super-G races for his first career victories in those speed disciplines.
The reigning overall World Cup champion appeared on his way to a repeat in the super-G, leading by .04 at the top interval. But Miller, who also is the reigning World Cup super-G champion, fell on his right hip and skidded before making a remarkable recovery, bouncing up and quickly getting back into his tuck. The mistake left him in 18th place, though, 1.31 behind Svindal.
The 22-year-old Svindal sped down the men’s Olympic course in 1 minute, 26.04 seconds. Austrian Benjamin Raich, who finished second to Miller in the World Cup overall standings last season, finished second in 1:26.11, and American Daron Rahlves was third in 1:26.12.
Austrian star Hermann Maier, another top super-G skier, seemed to be having a good run until a very wide turn left him in 21st place.
The men now travel to Beaver Creek, Colo., for the annual Birds of Prey World Cup, which includes the first slalom of the season.
AP-ES-11-27-05 1645EST
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.