Raich reels in gold
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ByEurosport
Published 12/02/2005 at 13:19 GMT
Benjamin Raich cut a wicked line to win the men's world championship slalom in Bormio on Saturday, besting his Austrian compatriot Rainer Schoenfelder by a sliver-thin 0.24 seconds. Giorgio Rocca brought in the bronze for home country Italy.
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Image credit: Eurosport
Raich confirmed his leading first-leg time, rocketing down a technical and soft-snow Stelvio piste to find his second gold of the 2005 world championships, after the combined event on February 3.
Raich also hoarded silver in the giant slalom and bronze in the super-G to bring his Bormio medal tally to four.
American sultan of ski Bode Miller botched his bid to become the first man to win world titles in five different events, the 27-year-old tripped up in his second run and tumbling down and out.
The early top performer at the Bormio world championships -- with golds in the downhill and super-G -- Miller has lost his winning edge, failing to finish the combined, giant slalom and Saturday's slalom events.
Raich, on the other hand -- and after a slower start than Miller -- has risen to become the most decorated male skier at the championships.
The Austrian, understandably, was on cloud nine Saturday.
"It was my big goal and dream to be world champion and after getting my first gold in combined I was really happy," Raich said.
"So I didn't put any pressure on myself for slalom and to be a double world champion is simply unbelievable."
"It wasn't an easy race because the first and second runs were completely different. The first run was really turny and you couldn't take any risks while the second was much straighter and my approach was completely different."
"I am really proud of all the medals I have won here in Bormio -- it is much more than I could have ever expected," he concluded.
The Italian crowds went giddy for homegrown favourite Giorgio Rocca, the slalom specialist hip-slinging to his second bronze medal of the world championships.
"I'm satisfied with my medal but it is not the colour that I wanted," Rocca said.
"Winning the gold was my dream but this is a second medal [after bronze in the combined]. My goal next year is to improve on this," he said, looking ahead to the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
The last three world champions in slalom all suffered first-leg exits, defending champion Ivica Kostelic of Croatia, Finn Kalle Palander and Austrian Mario Matt bumped down and out by the steep and technical Stelvio hill.
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