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Back-to-back wins Palander on a roll before worlds as Miller drops outPosted: Tuesday January 28, 2003 7:49 PM
SCHLADMING, Austria (Reuters) -- Finn Kalle Palander established himself as a hot favorite for gold at next month's world championships by emphatically winning his second World Cup slalom in a row on Tuesday. Palander, who took a maiden World Cup victory at Kitzbuehel on Sunday to give Finland their first win on the tour, clocked a combined two-run time of one minute 45.41 seconds down the Planai piste. Austria's Benjamin Raich, a winner here twice before, came second a massive 1.31 seconds off the pace, while Norway's Hans-Petter Buraas placed third in 1:46.74. American Bode Miller, sixth after the first run, squandered the chance to recapture the lead in the overall World Cup standings from Austrian Stephan Eberharter after an error-riddled second run sent him crashing out. Defending World Cup slalom champion Ivica Kostelic of Croatia, a winner in Kranjska Gora, Bormio and Sestriere this season, just missed the podium, coming fourth in 1:46.97. The 25-year-old Palander, leading by a margin of nearly a second and skiing last in the final run, carved down the badly rutted course that claimed many high-profile victims to extend his advantage even further. "It was a very tough race, Kitzbuehel was much easier. I had a really good first run which actually allowed me to do a lot of mistakes," the Finn said in the finish area. "The conditions weren't easy -- after my win in Kitzbuehel and the people here," he added in reference to the raucous crowd of some 40,000 spectators, "it's just great." Palander has gone from strength to strength this season after managing only two high placings last year. "It's pretty good. I was twice fourth and now I've won two times," he said. Favorite to medal The Finn is aware he is now a favorite to medal at the world championships starting on Sunday after consistently good results this year, but says the slalom slope at St Moritz is not tailormade to his style. "St Moritz is so flat, these slopes are much more difficult," he said in reference to the classic slalom courses of Wengen, Kitzbuehel and Schladming. Many potential winners fell foul of the hard conditions down the Planai after deep grooves developed with each racer's passage. They included Austria's Rainer Schoenfelder, second after the first leg and runner-up to Palander at Kitzbuehel last weekend, Wengen winner Giorgio Rocca and Olympic champion Jean-Pierre Vidal. Austria's Martin Marinac pulled off his best performance on the World Cup to date with a sixth place after posting the fastest time in the second leg to move up from 27th. Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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