Val Gardena: Miller 'satisfied with the way I skied'

Bode Miller was back on the World Cup podium Friday for the first time since breaking away from the U.S. Ski Team.
    Miller finished second in a super-G, missing out on defending his title here by a mere two hundredths of a second to Didier Cuche of Switzerland. Miller's previous best finish in 11 races this season was fourth in a super-combi race in Beaver Creek, Colorado, last month.   
    ''Everything has been going well but the results haven't really been there and that's always a little tough when you're putting in all the work and doing everything right,'' Miller said.  
    ''… I was really attacking and made a few errors,'' Miller added. ''But I'm perfectly satisfied with the way I skied.''  

VAL GARDENA, Italy — Bode Miller was back on the World Cup podium Friday for the first time since breaking away from the U.S. Ski Team.
    Miller finished second in a super-G, missing out on defending his title here by a mere two hundredths of a second to Didier Cuche of Switzerland. Miller's previous best finish in 11 races this season was fourth in a super-combi race in Beaver Creek, Colorado, last month.   
    ''Everything has been going well but the results haven't really been there and that's always a little tough when you're putting in all the work and doing everything right,'' Miller said. ''At the end of the day it's up to me to execute 100 percent and I didn't execute that well today and got a result. If I can start to clean up mistakes we're going to be in good shape.''   
    Miller, who left the U.S. team ahead of this season to train and race on his own, was the 21st skier down the course. He increased his lead on Marco Buechel from the first to second check points, then lost precious splits of a second in the middle section, hitting several gates that caused his arms to ricochet into the air.   
    ''I was really attacking and made a few errors,'' Miller said. ''But I'm perfectly satisfied with the way I skied.''   
    Cuche skied next and was significantly behind Miller through the first two check points. The Swiss skier was perfect on the lower section, and popped one of his skis off his foot and up into the air with delight upon seeing his name on top of the leader board.
    ''I made a little mistake on the upper part of the course and I wasn't too happy,'' Cuche said. ''I also had some trouble landing a jump near the end and only barely made the next gate. But you need some luck to win, especially by just a couple hundredths.''
    Cuche covered the 2.365-kilometer (1.47-mile) Saslong course in 1 minute, 36.62 seconds for his first victory of the season. Miller was 0.02 seconds behind, and Buechel was third, 0.04 back, making for extremely close podium times on a clear day in the Italian Dolomites.
    Benjamin Raich finished seventh and leads the overall standings with 441 points, followed by Cuche (373) and Daniel Albrecht (332), who fell but was not injured.
    Miller jumped up from seventh to fourth overall with 274 points.
    Cuche took over the lead in the super-G standings from Raich, 184-161.
    Miller has had to hire his own coaches and coordinate his own training and travel this season. Despite all the extra responsibilities, he said that wasn't the reason for his slow start.
    ''I don't think that's (why),'' Miller said. ''The skiing has been there. Mostly it's been execution. Fitness-wise I feel like I'm in better shape now than ever before.''
    Miller hired John McBride away from the U.S. team to be his head coach and brought in former U.S. coaches Forest Carey and Mike Kenney. Carey skied with Miller at the Carrabassett Valley Academy in Maine, and Kenney is his uncle.
    Miller has labeled his breakaway squad ''Team America.''
    ''I have a group of coaches that I have a huge amount of respect for,'' Miller added. ''They're really flexible and hard working and fun guys … It's like an all-star team right now.''
    Miller still must wear a U.S. team uniform and trades course reports with U.S. coaches.
    One of the main reasons Miller left the U.S. team was because it didn't allow him to sleep in the personal trailer he travels the circuit in.
    Buechel, a one-man team from tiny Liechtenstein, has also started touring the circuit in his own motor home this season.
    ''The only two guys on the World Cup tour who have a motor home are on the podium,'' Miller said. ''It's great. It's something that I feel strongly about. It helps a lot and (retired U.S. skier) Daron (Rahlves) was a fan of it and now I think Marco's seeing the benefits.''
    Before the race, Buechel relaxed in his motor home, which was parked next to Miller's much larger vehicle right by the race course.
    ''After inspection, I went down to my camper, put the heat up, ate something and watched some TV while the dog was biting on his bone,'' Buechel said. ''It was great.''
    Cuche has thought about getting one too.
    ''It would be nice to have my own place to stay and relax,'' Cuche said. ''But if I do it, it would have to be a big one like Bode's.''

    — The Associated Press