The double World Champion from Vail, who regained his momentum after two disappointing downhill races, took all risks on the demanding and bumpy "Olympiabakken" course to win his seventh World Cup race of the season. He even fell on his way to the finish line but managed to rebound after losing his balance for a split second.

"This victory means a lot to me after the disappointing last races. I feel tired and I have a hard time to get motivated. I have nothing to lose now and I will fight until the last day..." — Hermann Maier

This dramatic triumph, his ninth in a Super-G since his first win in February 1997 in Germany's Garmisch-Partenkirchen, allowed him to reinforce his chances to retain his overall World Cup title during the upcoming finals in Sierra Nevada, Spain.

His Norwegian rivals, Lasse Kjus, who shared the gold medal with him in Vail last month, and Kjetil Aamodt, finished far behind him this time. Kjus came in 6th and Aamodt 8th.

Now Aamodt's lead over Kjus went down to eight and to 25 on Maier. Everything will be decided in the last race in Spain.

Two Swiss racers also managed to beat Kjus, who placed 2nd in the downhill on Saturday. Didier Cuche, third last year in this race, came in 4th in front of his colleague Paul Accola. Two Americans also found their way among the world leaders: Chad Fleischer confirmed his strong form with an excellent 9th place, his best on the World Cup tour, while Daron Rahlves was 11th. It's the 17th World Cup success for the Austrian team this winter, the 14th in a row in Super-G since February 1997. With this fourth Super-G success this winter, Maier is sure to clinch his second consecutive World Cup title in that specialty.

In his typical "leave-no-prisoners" style, which has brought him so many victories and the admiration from his fans and rivals, "The Herminator" fought back after two humiliating days of downhill. "He was for sure mad this morning after the frustrating race yesterday and he skied with his guts today to show that he doesn't give up the battle," said his former teammate Armin Assinger, now a color-commentator for Austrian TV. "He didn't like the way the race officials handled the situation in the second downhill," added Assinger. "He was cruising down very fast on the upper part of the course before he was flagged down by a member of the jury at mid-course. He couldn't find back all his aggressiveness in his second race that day."

This victory, his 18th on the World Cup tour in the last two years, confirms once more how well Maier can handle the most difficult course conditions. The skier from Flachau was able to use his impressive power and all his determination to follow the most direct line down the treacherous and rough "Olympiabakken" course while the other contenders were just happy to survive the difficulties without too much damage.

"I had something to prove today," admitted the defending overall World Cup champion who has only lost one Super-G race in the last two years. Last November, he was beaten by his teammate Stephan Eberharter in Aspen. Stephan, who won a giant slalom race last week in Germany, made the best out of his excellent form to conquer his fourth consecutive spot on the podium since Vail where he couldn't be better than 4th in a Super-G. "The Herminator" would have won that race with almost a full second without his mistake in the upper part of the final schuss.

"This victory means a lot to me after the disappointing last races," he added. "I feel tired and I have a hard time to get motivated. I have nothing to lose now and I will fight until the last day."

Appartently, Maier is even ready to take part in the slalom in Sierra Nevada to score points in the hope to beat his Norwegian rivals.

He will also need his fastest skis on the rather flat Spanish courses which also require great feeling in the long gliding sections.

Both Aamodt and Kjus scored top-10 results during the 1996 World Championships in Sierra Nevada: Kjetil came in 3rd in the Super-G and Lasse 4th in the downhill.

"It will be a long week for us," said Kjetil, who won the overall World Cup title in 1994 and finished twice 2nd in 1993 and 1997. "I will need to ski better than today to remain in the lead."

So far, Lasse Kjus is the only favorite who showed potential to score top-3 results in all events. A smooth glider and an aggressive skier on hard courses, he can hope to score more points than the other two contenders. Aamodt has not skied well in Super-G this season and he needs demanding conditions in downhill to fight for a top-finish. Maier, who is also fighting for the giant slalom World Cup against Michael von Gruenigen, may have a hard time handling the flat speed courses and the very steep and narrow GS hills.

It's the first time since the legendary finals in 1975 that three skiers will fight for the overall World Cup trophy in the last week of the season.

In March 1975, Italy's Gustavo Thoeni, Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark and Austria's Franz Klammer all started with 240 points in the last parallel slalom of the winter. It was Thoeni who came out as a winner in beating Stenmark in the last dual of that memorable race.

— Mountain Zone European Correspondent