Kitzbuehel, Austria (Friday, January 23, 2004) - One day before he defends his Hahnenkamm downhill title, Daron Rahlves (Sugar Bowl, CA) grabbed the sixth World Cup victory of his career Friday, capturing a super G by .03 over national hero Hermann Maier. Rahlves, who was third a day earlier in a make-up downhill opening the 64th Kitzbuehel race weekend, finished in 1:23.08.

Outdoor Life Network, which covers the World Cup all season, broadcasts same-day coverage every Saturday night at 7 ET with rebroadcasts Sunday at 5 p.m. ET and Thursday night at 10 ET.

Rahlves, skiing, 18th, led from the top and padded his time at the bottom of the 2.3K course. Maier finished in 1:23.11 with teammates Michael Walchhofer and Andreas Schifferer 3-4.

"It's a love affair between 'D' and Kitz," said U.S. Head Coach Phil McNichol. "You see him the week before Kitzbuehel and he's like a kid before Christmas. He just wants to get here and get skiing here. He loves this place...

"He hammered the bottom again. He really loves the bottom of the course where it gets gnarly."

The win, McNichol said, "turns up the pressure [for Saturday's Hahnenkamm] but he's on a roll. It's going to be another cold and clear day, and it's going to be a fantastic race."

It's the first super G victory for Rahlves, the most successful U.S. man in downhill with five World Cup wins. The victory also is only the second super G win by an American, following Tommy Moe's triumph at Whistler, B.C., in 1994.

It's also the fourth time in four seasons the Lake Tahoe racer, a graduate of Vermont's Green Mountain Valley School, had been on a Kitzbuehel podium. He tied for third in a downhill in 2001, won the 2003 Hahnenkamm and then came through with his back-to-back performances this week.


MEN'S ALPINE WORLD CUP
64th Hahnenkamm Weekend
Kitzbuehel, AUT – Jan. 23
Men's Super G
1. Daron Rahlves, Sugar Bowl, Calif., 1:23.08
2. Hermann Maier, Austria, 1:23.11
3. Michael Walchhofer, Austria, 1:23.47
4. Andreas Schifferer, Austria, 1:23.52
5. Lasse Kjus, Norway, 1:23.61
-
28. Bode Miller, Franconia, N.H., 1:24.86
33. Jake Fiala, Frisco, Colo., 1:25.12
49. Thomas Vonn, Newburgh, N.Y., 1:26.83
DNF: Bryon Friedman, Park City, Utah, and Wade Bishop, Winter Park, Colo.