World Cup champion Bode Miller, a five-event racer on the U.S. Ski Team, reports regularly from the tour for The Denver Post. In Kitzbuehel last week, he was fourth in downhill, 18th in slalom, second in combined and did not finish the super-G. He is fourth in the overall standings.
Kitzbuehel, Austria – My left knee bothered me a little in Saturday’s Hahnenkamm downhill. I hurt it landing a jump at the Beaver Creek races in December. Contrary to speculation I tore cartilage, I had an MRI and it was negative. I think it was just a bit of a bone bruise.
It’s the same knee I injured at the world championships in 2001, when I tore my ACL, but it’s not a big concern.
There’s also been speculation I’m not in great shape. I think my level of fitness is pretty good. I’m making it to the bottom of these courses pretty comfortably, really the only test we have. Right now I feel good.
I haven’t decided whether to skip some races before the Olympics. There’s a chance I might take some time off this week or next week. If I skipped any races, it probably would be the races this weekend in Garmisch, Germany. The downhill course the following week in Chamonix, France, is more similar to the Olympic downhill course in Sestriere.
In the Kitzbuehel slalom, I had a couple of tough courses, and I was not very good in either run. I had a bad start position in the first run (17th), and it was pretty slow because the conditions were ragged by the time I got to go. The first guys who went were pretty quick, but by the time even No. 10 went, it slowed down a lot. I made a couple of mistakes and finished 14th.
I started 17th again in the second run. The guys who ran first through fifth were fast, and when I came down I was sixth. Then I got beat by everybody who came after me, and I finished 18th. I wasn’t holding back to make sure I finished. I was trying to ski fast.
(Note: Since winning on the Olympic course in Sestriere, Italy, in December 2004, Miller has finished only three of 14 slaloms.)
My downhill on Saturday was all right. It set me up for finishing second in the combined. I skied well. I just wasn’t the quickest in a couple sections. It was decent.
