Spoiler Alert: Bode and World Cup Standings

[Buster Highmen]

Don't read this if you don't want to know recent results.

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VAL D'ISERE, France: Bode Miller won the Val d'Isere race on Sunday to clinch his third super-combi World Cup title.

The American finished with a combined time of 2 minutes, 18.45 seconds.

Miller went down the 2,139-meter (yard) Face de Bellevarde course in 1:33.88 in the morning, 1.37 ahead of second-place Didier Defago of Switzerland.

"When I'm at 100 percent in the downhill, it gives me more maneuvering room over my opponents," Miller said. "I can then adjust in the slalom. Today I was at 40 percent in the slalom. I know that if I'm at 100 percent in the slalom, chances are that I won't finish."

Ivica Kostelic of Croatia, trailing by 2.26 seconds in the first leg, had the fastest time in the slalom to take second place, 0.38 behind Miller.

Kostelic's teammate Natko Zrncic-Dim ended third in 2:19.44.

Miller finished top of the discipline standings with 410 points, ahead of Kostelic with 256. Daniel Albrecht of Switzerland was third with 245 after finishing seventh. Jean-Baptiste Grange of France was fourth with 220.

It was Miller's fifth World Cup victory this season. He also won the Bormio and Wengen downhills, the Kitzbuehel combined, and the Chamonix super-combined.

Miller won the super-combi title in 2003 and 2004.

Miller increased his lead in the overall World Cup standings with 1,067 points after 28 races. Benjamin Raich of Austria is second with 945, and downhill leader Didier Cuche of Switzerland has 882.

"There are still four or five guys who can win the overall title," said Miller, who last won the overall in 2005.

Grange was second in the super-combi before the race and the only skier who could prevent Miller from grabbing the discipline's crystal globe.

The Frenchman trailed Miller by 2.77 seconds after the downhill run and pushed himself hard in the second leg to cut the deficit. But Grange did not finish, making two mistakes in the slalom's upper section.

"I was not in a good rhythm," Grange said. "To skid off the course can happen. But it's due more to fatigue than pressure. I haven't had a day off since January 1."

The downhill event on Saturday was canceled because of heavy snowfall.

The Garmisch resort in Germany hosts the next World Cup event, a slalom, on Feb. 9.

MEN'S SUPER-COMBINED RESULTS

VAL D'ISERE, France (AP) - Results Sunday in a men's super-combined (downhill and slalom) World Cup meet:

1. Bode Miller, United States, 2 minutes, 18.45 seconds.

2. Ivica Kostelic, Croatia, 2:18.83.

3. Natko Zrncic-Dim, Croatia, 2:19.44.

4. Rainer Schoenfelder, Austria, 2:19.54.

5. Ales Gorza, Slovenia, 2:19.63.

6. Benjamin Raich, Austria, 2:19.74.

7. Daniel Albrecht, Switzerland, 2:19.78.

8. Carlo Janka, Switzerland, 2:19.81.

9. Julien Lizeroux, France, 2:20.19.

10. Mario Scheiber, Austria, 2:20.24.

11. Marc Berthod, Switzerland, 2:20.26.

12. Didier Defago, Switzerland, 2:20.40.

13. Florian Eisath, Italy, 2:20.90.

14. Peter Fill, Italy, 2:21.07.

15. Alexandr Horoshilov, Russia, 2:21.24.

16. Matteo Marsaglia, Italy, 2:21.33.

17. Andrej Jerman, Slovenia, 2:21.35.

18. Christof Innerhofer, Italy, 2:21.49.

19. Pierre Paquin, France, 2:21.53.

20. Michael Gufler, Italy, 2:21.64.

21. Werner Heel, Italy, 2:21.81.

22. Ted Ligety, United States, 2:21.86.

23. Krystof Kryzl, Czech Republic, 2:22.30.

24. Guillermo Fayed, France, 2:22.34.

25. Romed Baumann, Austria, 2:22.51.

26. Niklas Rainer, Sweden, 2:22.59.

27. Didier Cuche, Switzerland, 2:22.63.

28. Manfred Mölgg, Italy, 2:22.91.

29. Lars Elton Myhre, Norway, 2:23.30.

30. Filip Trejbal, Czech Republic, 2:23.37.

Super-Combined World Cup Standings (after 5 events out of 5)

1. Bode Miller, United States, 410 points.

2. Ivica Kostelic, Croatia, 256.

3. Daniel Albrecht, Switzerland, 245.

4. Jean-Baptiste Grange, France, 220.

5. Rainer Schoenfelder, Austria, 206.

6. Benjamin Raich, Austria, 183.

7. Ted Ligety, United States, 131.

8. Natko Zrncic-Dim, Croatia, 124.

9. Andrej Jerman, Slovenia, 111.

10. Peter Fill, Italy, 95.

Overall World Cup Standings (after 28 events out of 41)

1. Bode Miller, United States, 1,067 points.

2. Benjamin Raich, Austria, 945.

3. Didier Cuche, Switzerland, 882.

4. Jean-Baptiste Grange, France, 676.

5. Daniel Albrecht, Switzerland, 641.

6. Ted Ligety, United States, 576.

7. Manfred Mölgg, Italy, 521.

8. Ivica Kostelic, Croatia, 498.

9. Rainer Schoenfelder, Austria, 462.

10. Mario Matt, Austria, 440.

[grskier]

Yeah Bode!

stoked to see him skiing well.

[PeachesN'Cream]

love him or hate him, you gotta admit he's a talented boy.

[Buster Highmen]

What's really been obvious is how little coverage anything but corposports have. Here's an American r00ling it in that down home independent way and he gets nada from the American media.

[GBB]

at a boy Bode!

[Hutch]

Looks like a participant in a Corposport to me!

Go Bode!

[Toadman]

What's really been obvious is how little coverage anything but corposports have. Here's an American r00ling it in that down home independent way and he gets nada from the American media.

Must be the hangover from all the bad press Bode got in the Turin Olympics. Thought it was odd too that Bode was getting no press. See the occassional 4 sentence paragraph on the back page of the sports section but that's it.

Ligety in top 10 overall, nice to see.

[philippeR]

He totally killed it on the DH

[oftpiste]

There was actually an ARTICLE with a PHOTO(!) in the Times this morning. What a shocker.

[danimal's dead]

Maybe if Bode dated Lindsay Lohan or one of the other ho-llywood sluts he might get some press.

But seriously, I love it when a guy says Phuck you to the establishment and succeeds on his own terms. Go Bode.

[plugboots]

I watched the WCSN video of the DH, and I always laugh at the announcers saying he's in the backseat, blah, blah, blah, then he finishes a minute and a half faster than second. I also noticed the US ski team sticker on his helmet. I was hoping for a Team America logo.

[The AD]

How come they call it "Super Combined" now? Hasn't combined always been a downhill run and a slalom run?

[Buster Highmen]

I watched the WCSN video of the DH, and I always laugh at the announcers saying he's in the backseat, blah, blah, blah, then he finishes a minute and a half faster than second.

Is that Chad Fleischer? That guy had to put on makeup to cover his green skin.

I also noticed the US ski team sticker on his helmet. I was hoping for a Team America logo.

It mixes well with the Superfund logo, ya think?

[Arty50]

Definitely. Are you sure that's the official US Ski Team logo? I'd be interested to see it close up.

[The AD]

OK, I'll answer my own question. From Wikipedia:

There is also a "combined" event that includes one downhill run and two slalom runs on a single day. In 2005, the FIS (Fédération Internationale de Ski) introduced a new event to the World Cup calendar called the super combined, or super combi, consisting of one shortened downhill run and just one slalom run

Seems like it should actually be called the "Puny Combined."