09 JAN 2001 > Men's Giant Slalom
Herminator: The Greatest Snow Warrior of All
Race Results

Like a sleeping lion suddenly awakened after a comfortable nap, Hermann Maier regained all his momentum today at Adelboden where he won his third consecutive "Classical" giant slalom after an intense battle against Switzerland's Michael von Grueningen.

As soon as he saw the conditions were excellent, despite the heavy snowfalls from Monday, the uncommonly mellow Hermann turned himself into the implacable "Herminator," the greatest snow warrior of the "White Circus," the champion who moves faster than his shadow down the most treacherous slopes of the World Cup tour. "As soon as I saw the course at the morning inspection, I felt ready for a great race. I like this difficult hill and the demanding conditions were just perfect for me," a jubilant Maier said.

After two disappointing races at Bormio and Les Arcs where he only finished 10th and 7th, respectively, the Austrian recovered all his joy of living, and all his determination at Adelboden.

"I had no doubt about my potential but I was not in my best mode..."

After setting the fastest time in the first run, in which von Gruenigen almost crashed near the finish line, Maier easily defended his lead with a tactical second run to remain out of reach from his toughest rivals.

At the end of his final run, he beat the Swiss by half a second while Sweden's Fredrik Nyberg, 2nd in the first run, reached his third podium of the season in finishing 3rd at 72/100. Another Austrian, Christoph Gruber, the winner at Bormio, was 4th after clocking the fastest time in the afternoon which should qualify him for the coming World Championships at St Anton. Erik Schlopy was a superb 5th, a great achievement for the US skier on this terrible slope. He has now strongly consolidated his position in the first seed in GS and hopes now to draw bib #1 at the Worlds.

Schlopy's teammate, Bode Miller, tried too hard to confirm his strong form in the morning and missed the qualification after a series of big mistakes.

Lasse Kjus was only 7th and Kjetil Aamodt 13th. Maier has had no problem reinforcing his lead in the Overall World Cup standings. It's difficult to imagine that he could lose it this season.

Hermann demonstrated great joy at the finish line after finding out once more that he would leave the charming resort of Adelboden a hero, even though 13,000 spectators gathered with the hopes of seeing the victory of von Gruenigen.

Obviously it was more than a normal victory for the reigning GS Olympic Champion who was deeply affected by his disqualification at Val d'Isère three weeks ago. The Austrian never used the word "revenge" in his post-race interviews but it's obvious that this is the feeling which was going through his mind after that dramatic and demanding race.

"I had no doubt about my potential but I was not in my best mode and my form was average in the past weeks," he said. "At Bormio and Les Arcs, the race conditions were quite tough, even a little dangerous because of the fog and I was tired because of a flu in both places," he added. "I was not motivated enough to charge as aggressively as usual. But here it was another story.

"This success is exactly what I need to get back on the right track after all the crazy events from last month. It was a real Muppets show and it's good that sport got the last word today. I feel quite relaxed in this moment and I'm looking forward for the coming speed events. I like Wengen, it's atmosphere and it's wonderful downhill courses. It's much more quiet there than in Austria. It may well be my last cool moments for a while."

With two more races left, this success also put him closer to Michael von Gruenigen in the GS World Cup standings. His chances to pass the Swiss veteran are slim but he hasn't given up all his hopes for another success in that competition. "I'll see how things are going at St Anton, then I'll decide on my schedule," he said.

It's quite possible that Hermann may prefer to skip the technical race in Japan after the World Championships to rest before the "pre-Olympic" race at Snowbasin.

In the Overall standings, he has no serious threat for the moment. The 1999 winner, Lasse Kjus, is behind by 200 points and Kjetil Aamodt by almost 300. Things may change during the coming weeks after the combined events at Wengen and Kitzbühel but the Norwegians are far from their best level this winter.

Kjus, who won five medals at Vail in 1999, has also decided to focus on the Worlds at St Anton. He plans not to compete at Garmisch-Partenkirchen the weekend prior to the first race in Austria. The races at Wengen could be decisive for the issue of the World Cup fight with two downhills, a slalom and a combined are planned in the Swiss ski resort this weekend.

— Patrick Lang, World Cup Correspondent

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