BEAVER CREEK — Young Andrew Weibrecht stood as the top American after the first of two runs in a World Cup super-combined race today on the Birds of Prey.
Weibrecht, a promising young downhiller from Lake Placid, was fifth this morning in the combined downhill. The combined slalom will be run this afternoon, beginning at 2:45 p.m. Times from the two runs are added together to determine the winner.
Swiss racers took the first four places in the morning session, led by Didier Defago, and the 23-year-old Weibrecht was 0.81 of a second behind. Bode Miller stood in seventh place and Olympic combined champion Ted Ligety was in 24th.
Miller isn’t in top shape physically, because he wasn’t committed to returning to racing until September and did not have a normal off-season conditioning program. He said his lack of strength was a factor in his inability to find the right position on his skis in a downhill run with speeds reaching more than 70 mph.
“I’d love it to be better,” Miller said of his fitness. “That’s always the case, even when I’m fully strong and fully prepared. Even with a full prep period, I still always wish I was stronger. There’s just a lot of fatigue going on, especially the way I ski.
“I was sort of out of it today, couldn’t find the right position. My strength affected that. If I was a little stronger I could do that better.”
Still, it’s not inconceivable that Miller could finish today on the podium with a good slalom run.
“There’s a lot of good slalom skiers here,” Miller said. “I was skiing (slalom) great in the prep period, and I think I can compete with any of those guys. I have a decent chance at it from where I am.”
