Snowfall Saves Maier from Disappointment

	Maier was 7th when race was cancelled

Heavy snowfalls saved Hermann "The Herminator" Maier from his first disappointment of the season when organizers were forced to call off the men's giant slalom in Val d'Isère due to bad weather conditions. Maier, the current Overall World Cup points leader, who won the first two GS races so far in Tignes and Beaver Creek, was only in 7th place when the first run was stopped after 22 skiers had completed the course.

Maier was trailing his Austrian teammate, Christian Mayer, by 56/100 of a second when the race was abandoned because of poor visibility, strong guts of wind and heavy snowfalls.

Mayer, GS Champion in 1994, was leading in front of a strong field of Austrian skiers. In fact, seven Austrians — Mayer, Maier, Stephan Eberharter, Benjamin Raich, Heinz Schilchegger, Andreas Schifferer and Hans Knauss — were among the 10 fastest men when the race was stopped.

The Herminator, who has won five of the six races he entered this season, suffered a slight hip injury and a stiff back after a crash while training for the giant slalom on Friday, which might explain his lackluster run.

Maier has a history of bad luck in the Val d'Isère. Though he won a super G here last season, he was disqualified in December 1997 for removing his skis outside the authorized area after setting the fastest total time. Michael von Gruenigen inheritated first place.

Maier's only defeat this season was in a downhill in Lake Louise, where he finished second behind compatriot Hannes Trinkl by a slight 3/100 of a second. Maier's main rival is the Swiss von Gruenigen, who finished second in the first two giant slaloms of the season and was second fastest before today's cancellation.

"I guess it was the right decision to call it off, but it was a little surprising they had us start the race at all," said von Gruenigen, the defending World Cup GS champion. "But the condition of the piste and the visibility deteriorated very fast after the 15th starter and there was nothing else to be done," he added.

The Swiss and Austrian skiers had been reluctant to start the race and Didier Cuche, starting with number 18, stopped halfway down the hill after throwing away his goggles in anger.

This giant slalom is expected to be rescheduled in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, on December 22nd.

— Manuele Joyce, MountainZone.com World Cup Correspondent