Men's Super G
There was no surprise in the last men's event at Beaver Creek. Hermann Maier celebrated an expected fourth consecutive victory of the season, dominating the short yet very demanding super G course. After a spectacular run, the double World Champion, who wore his lucky number 8, again clocked a better time than his teammate Stephan Eberharter. But overall, it was a good day for their team. A total of eight Austrian skiers finished among the top-11.

	Hermann Maier

America's Daron Rahlves also had a good day on the difficult slope. He reached a promising 14th place, far ahead of American Chad Fleischer who reached only 26th. US slalom skier Bode Miller came in at an impressive 23rd place, ahead of Norway's specialist Kjetil Aamodt, who finished 25th.

Hermann Maier likes to proclaim his love for super G, the youngest alpine speciality, created by Serge Lang in 1981 and introduced in the World Cup program in 1983.

"It's a great event because it's similar to a downhill yet you can't train for it," says Maier. "You have only one chance during inspection to find out about the difficulties of the course. Then you have to ski it with much instinct. It's a race for tough people, for fighters who have talent and guts. It's just perfect for me."

"You have only one chance during inspection to find out about the difficulties of the course. Then you have to ski it with much instinct. It's a race for tough people, for fighters who have talent and guts. It's just perfect for me..." — Hermann Maier (AUT)

Since his first World Cup success in February 1997 at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the Austrian has dominated this discipline like no other skier before him. In Beaver Creek, "The Herminator" once more crushed his rivals with this, his 10th World Cup win in a super G. Beside these, he also won two gold medals at the 1998 Olympics and the 1999 World Championships.

Last February, Maier had to share the title with Norway's Lasse Kjus. That was the last time Kjus, who is slowly recovering from an injured knee, won a super G. Kjus couldn't touch Maier today, but his 3rd place win, in middle of the Austrian "Armada," is an impressive one for the defending Overall World Cup Champion. Kjus says he hopes to be back in form in less than a month.

Hermann Maier is moving on a cloud. The more he wins, the more confident he feels and the better he skis — which makes it really difficult for his rivals. He was aiming for a fourth consecutive victory on his beloved "Birds of Prey" course, on which he has already won two super G races in the past years. In total, he now has four wins from Beaver Creek!

	Kjus

"It has been such a wonderful week that I wanted to conclude it in the best way," he said after the race. "I had a strong start but I did some mistakes in the middle part because I pushed myself a little too hard. The conditions were again very demanding, which is fine for me. So far, I'm in the best possible shape. I'm so glad that my health is fine. As long as I don't have any pain at my back, I should be able to keep on skiing so well," said Maier. But he also admits that now is no time to relax. "As I said before, I don't want to be overconfident because then it's easy to make errors. That's why I took much time to perfectly inspect the course this morning."

As soon as he crossed the finish line with a new best time, Maier lifted his arms up in the air. He felt sure of himself, despite that fact that some top skiers, like Stephan Eberharter and Andreas Schifferer, were still behind the start gate.

Some might consider this arrogant behaviour, but like the great Franz Klammer in 1975 or the wonderful Alberto Tomba in 1988, Maier has set new limits to his preferred specialty.

"I feel that I can't lose as long as I don't make a major mistake," he told Austrian media earlier in the week. At this moment, his confidence is at the level of his talent and his dedication. Having won all major titles since 1998, he can also be very cool — and tough to beat.

In Lake Louise, in December, Maier will race on a new terrain. He has never competed in that superb Canadian resort which replaces Whistler Mountain on the World Cup schedule. He faces his next challenges with a relaxed attitude. "I'll see how I like the course there, hopefully it's not too cold there," he answered with a smile at the press conference. "I'm on a good wave but that doesn't mean that I can keep on winning next week. I would enjoy to remain ahead, but I'm not obsessed by this winning streak. It would just put extra pressure on me. I take each race as it comes to me. The season is still long."

But his rivals aren't giving up their hopes. Both Kjus and Eberharter feel able to improve in the coming weeks. "I don't want to complain since I'm back on the podium and I'm having a great season start, but I again made too many mistakes today," said Eberharter. "You need a perfect run to have a chance to beat Hermann - but I know I can do it again."

Kjus is turning back home to rest for a week before the next European races in Val d'Isère, where he won the first downhill race last season. The Norwegian is impressed by Maier's confidence — but also by his own progress made in the last week in Beaver Creek. The battle of these two special characters may only have begun today.

— Patrick Lang, MountainZone.com World Cup Correspondent