Hermann Maier didn’t make it to eight consecutive wins on his beloved Birds of Prey course at Beaver Creek. The Austrian had a slow day in the second super G of the season, won by Sweden's veteran, Fredrik Nyberg.

Thirty-one-year-old Nyberg, from Sundsvall, won his first super G four years after his last win in a giant slalom at Breckenridge, Colorado. Austria’s Christoph Gruber was 2nd, 3/100 of a second behind Nyberg. Three Scandinavians finished behind them: Sweden's Kenneth Sivertsen, and Norway's Kjetil Aamodt and Lasse Kjus.

"I had one of these unbelievable days that you wish to live at least once in your career."

"The Herminator" finished 6th, but retained the lead in the Overall World Cup standings. It was not a big day for the US team — there were no Americans in the top-15. Daron Rahlves skied out, as did many other skiers thrown by the tough, technical course.

Nyberg finally achieved his dream to win his first speed event after five victories in giant slalom since 1990. One of the finest and more gentle skiers on the tour, Fredrik has made it to the podium twice in super G in recent years, but never 1st, until now.

He is also a brave downhiller, but his low weight and small frame are a handicap in downhill gliding sections where "quarterbacks" such as Maier, Kjus, Hannes Trinkl or Stephan Eberharter cruise much faster than him.

But Sunday, Nyberg was especially inspired. He said he had a dream day and enjoyed the sinuous course set by his own trainer, Hans Krug.

"Everything went perfectly; I had one of these unbelievable days that you wish to live at least once in your career," the Swede explained. "I did everything I wanted to do after I saw the course during the inspection. I felt I had a good chance here and I fought hard. It's a great day for me and the team because I have been aiming for this for a long time. It’s difficult for us to train the speed events in the summer so this result is worth a lot for all of us."

Nyberg is the first Swede to win a super G since the success of Niklas Henning in Val d’Isère back in 1988.

Hermann Maier didn’t spend much time in the finish area this time. When he saw that he failed to reach the podium for the first time here since December 1997, the Austrian made some jokes and left.

— Manuèle Lang, World Cup Correspondent

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