Miller, Eberharter, Maier expect tight race for ski title

SOELDEN, Austria (AP) – Bode Miller’s ambition is simple.

“My goal is the same as every year – to not hurt myself,” he said. “And when it comes to downhill, it’s to not kill myself.”

The World Cup ski season opens this weekend, marking the start of what could be a winter-long struggle for the overall title featuring Miller, defending champion Stephen Eberharter and Hermann Maier.

Miller finished second to Eberharter last winter and dominated time trial tests this month. The American enters the season healthy for the first time in three years after dealing with knee injuries that forced him to have arthroscopic surgery early last season.

Miller was the only skier to compete in all 37 World Cup races and the world championships last season. He enjoyed the best U.S. men’s season since Phil Mahre in 1983, earning three medals at the worlds.

He is the favorite in the giant slalom and a contender for Eberharter’s super giant title. He figures to be less of a factor in the slalom after slumping in the discipline last year when he started concentrating more on speed events.

Eberharter swept the overall, downhill and Super-G. Defending his downhill title is the Austrian’s top priority.

“My batteries are fully recharged,” he said.

Maier, a double Olympic gold medalist and three-time World Cup overall champion, is returning from a 2001 motorcycle accident that nearly cost him a leg. After missing almost two seasons, he won a Super-G last January in only his fourth race after returning. He finished third in the worlds Super-G behind Eberharter and Miller.

Maier considered this his “comeback season” and wasn’t sure he could challenge Eberharter and Miller for the overall.

“I’m not at my best yet,” he said. “I need more time and I’d be glad to be among the hopeful outsiders for the title. It is perfectly clear I am not at the level I was at before my crash.”

Maier’s ranking was protected while he was idle but he was dropped out of the top 15 after he returned to the races. He was seeded 27th in the giant slalom and 21st in the downhill.

Norway’s Kjetil Andre Aamodt, third in the overall last year, is out of the picture after breaking his ankle during training Wednesday. He will be sidelined for at least three months.

American Daron Rahlves, second in the downhill last year, hopes to challenge Eberharter along with Swiss Bruno Kernen and Austrian Michael Walchhofer, the winner of the downhill world title who finished third in the year-end standings.

On the women’s side, the overall is wide open.

Triple Olympic gold medalist and double World Cup champion Janica Kostelic of Croatia is seeking to defend her title but knee surgery most likely

will sideline her until the technical races in Lienz late December.

Her main challengers are last year’s overall runner-up Karen Putzer of Italy, Austrians Michaela Dorfmeister and Alexandra Meissnitzer, Sweden’s Anja Paerson and Germans Martina Ertl and Renate Goetschl.

World Cup downhill champion Dorfmeister, Olympic bronze medalist Goetschl, Olympic Super-G silver medalist Kirsten Clark of the United States and downhill Olympic champion Carole Montillet of France will be vying in the speed events.

Kostelic will be defending the slalom title and Paerson will be trying to repeat in the giant slalom.