Men's Super G
This next-to-last ski racing weekend before the World Cup finals at Bormio is a tough one for the Austrian fans, with no World Cup victory to celebrate in Lenzerheide or Kvitfjell — a first since the season start. But even worse, the "Reds and Whites" lost their first men's super G since February 1997 as Italy's Kristian Ghedina beat Hermann Maier, with time to spare.

	Ghedina

The downhill specialist from Cortina d'Ampezzo certainly enjoyed one of his most exciting career successes, winning his first super G ever in front of three Austrian skiers, including "The Herminator" and Fritz Strobl, one of the three winners at St. Anton.

Kristian, 2nd in Saturday's downhill behind American Daron Rahlves, beat Maier by 38/100 of a second and Strobl by almost a full second — times that hurt the pride of those racers who have been so dominant in recent months.

Rahlves had another strong race, but he was aiming for more than 5th place. He fought very hard, but somehow the magic was gone. He had a clean run, but was not as aggressive as he was for the past two days in the downhill races. Nonetheless, this 5th place is the best super G result of the season.

Norway's Kjetil Aamodt placed 6th — his best result in a super G in quite a while. But with just a few races left, his chances of improving his overall standing are almost over.

"It's quite exciting to finish for once ahead of the Austrians and to beat Hermann Maier in that specialty. This really means something because he's not somebody who gives anything away...." — Kristian Ghedina (ITA)

Hermann Maier clinched his third super G title in three years, but not in the way he was hoping. Since Hermann's first World Cup victory in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, back in February 1997, the Austrian Armada has not lost a single super G on the World Cup tour, or in any major medal events. Norway's Lasse Kjus tied with Maier in Vail during the last Ski World Championships, but the Austrians have not lost any of the last 21 super G competitions.

But like Rahlves, Ghedina has good reasons to enjoy competing on the 1994 Olympic run - in 1995, he was 2nd here in a super G. The weather was perfect here today, and Ghedina needs excellent visibility to be able ski his best and he was quite inspired by what he saw during inspection prior to the race.

He demonstrated his confidence to his teammate Peter Runggaldier, winner of the super G World Cup trophy in 1995. After the inspection, Ghedina told him that he felt ready for the podium. "You will see, I'm going to beat Maier today and you better bring your camera," he told his colleague.

"I had a good feeling this morning because I liked the setting of the course and I believed in my chances of reaching a top-3 spot," he said after the race. "I fought hard and I'm quite proud of myself. It's quite exciting to finish for once ahead of the Austrians and to beat Hermann Maier in that specialty. This really means something because he's not somebody who gives anything away. It's more than a dream which came true for me. To win both in downhill and in super G during the same season is fantastic. This is going to boost my morale for the finals at Bormio and for the coming years, too. At Bormio, I will also do my best to defend my 3rd place in the Overall World Cup standings."

Maier tried to be graceful in his defeat, but he was not pleased at all. "Well, I did not make a mistake in the final part where I lost over half a second on Kristian — apparently the wind didn't favor me once more," he said.

	Maier

"The course was too straight and too simple for a real super G, it was perfect for the downhill skiers. But that's okay, I can't complain, since I also won the super G World Cup title, which was my main goal coming here. I'm also pleased to have improved Paul Accola's mark in the Overall World Cup standings. I'm getting closer to the 2000 points limit now," said Maier.

Adding 80 points to his total with this 2nd place, it's the 19th time this winter that Maier reached the podium — another unprecedented achievement he can be proud of. The skier from Flachau is only 240 points away from that incredible mark he set himself earlier this season. He needs three 2nd places at Bormio to reach his target — or two wins and a 6th place.

Daron Rahlves was sorry to miss his third consecutive podium by 16/100 of a second here in Kvitfjell. The Californian had another great run and made no obvious mistake. But in the middle section, where he was so dominant in the past two days, he was just not as aggressive this time.

"I tried hard again because I wanted this third consecutive win here," he said. "The conditions were excellent again and I had a solid run. For while I was hoping to remain among the top-3, but some guys did not agree with my plan. It's okay since it's my best super G race this season, too, and I have learned so much during this past week. I will never forget what has happened here and I will work even harder in the coming summer."

The next men's race is scheduled for the middle of the coming week — a make-up giant slalom held in Slovenia's Kranjska Gora. It will be followed by a night slalom in Schladming and another GS at Hinterstoder. There will be some interesting races, as Switzerland's Michael von Gruenigen still believes in his chances of beating Hermann Maier in the specialty standings.

— Manuele Joyce, MountainZone.com European Correspondent