Miller Overtakes Downhill Points Lead

BORMIO, Italy (Dec. 29) - Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) attacked the washboard surface of the rugged Stelvio downhill in Bormio to finish fifth and overtake the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup downhill lead. Vancouver Olympic downhill gold medalist Didier Defago won the race with teammate Patrick Kueng in second for a historic Swiss 1-2 finish. Miller won the Audi Birds of Prey downhill earlier this month in Beaver Creek, CO and was ninth in the season-opening downhill in Lake Louise, Alberta.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Bode Miller was fifth in the Stelvio downhill to overtake the World Cup downhill points lead
• Miller won the Bormio downhill in 2007 and captured the 2005 downhill World Championship on the venue
• Swiss racers Didier Defago and Patrick Kueng produced a historic 1-2 finish
• Travis Ganong was the only other American to finish in the top 30 with 30th
• It was the first World Cup start for New Hampshire native Ace Tarberry
• Men's World Cup action returns Jan. 3 with a slalom in Zagreb, Croatia

QUOTES
Bode Miller
I take a lot of risks with my skiing and when I made that mistake on the traverse there was no where else to make up time. I basically had to ski uphill to make the next gate.

When it gets more dense and more water in the snow it responds even quicker and my main problem is that I always go in a little too quickly and too straight - I'm not subtle on the skis - so on these big turns if it gets even more aggressive that's tough for me to adapt.

TV
Universal Sports will air the Bormio downhill at 11 a.m. ET on its 24-hour TV network

OFFICIAL RESULTS
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