SKIING WORLD CUP : Norwegian Wins; Alaskan Is Second

An American placed second in a World Cup men’s downhill Saturday but, surprise, it wasn’t AJ Kitt.

Saying he decided to “just think speed,” Tommy Moe of Palmer, Alaska, started in the second tier of skiers and finished less than a second behind Atle Skaardal, one of the self-styled “Attacking Vikings” who have been leading Norway’s resurgence in Alpine skiing.

Skaardal, racing in the top-seeded group of 15, reached speeds in excess of 80 m.p.h. as he covered the 2.4-mile Whistler Mountain course in 2 minutes 10.97 seconds. Moe’s 2:11.96 was good for second, 0.13 seconds ahead of Franz Heinzer of Switzerland.

Kitt, considered the leading U.S. downhiller since winning a World Cup race in late 1991 at Val d’Isere, France, met with misfortune midway through his run, and the parting was less than amicable.

“I came into a corner, a real bumpy one, and got bounced around a little bit in my ski,” Kitt said. “My binding released and then flicked back on again, but my foot had shifted over in the binding and the ski wouldn’t turn. When I stopped, I looked down and my foot was sideways.

“It’s one of those things--you’re going so fast, when it happens, it’s over with.”

After reaching the finish area, Kitt radioed a description of his journey to U.S. teammates at the top. “He just said it was bumpy and to go for it,” Moe said.

Easier said than skied, especially for Moe, 23, who had never finished in the top 10 of a World Cup race, let alone stand on the podium reserved for the three medalists.

“I didn’t have anything to lose and told myself, ‘Just think speed,’ ” Moe said. “It all came together for me. I knew I was hauling it on the top, and on the bottom I was just hanging on. This is a great feeling, to be up there with guys like Franz Heinzer.”

Heinzer, the defending World Cup downhill champion, retained his lead in this season’s standings. With four downhills to go, including one next weekend at Aspen, Colo., the 30-year-old Swiss veteran has 484 points, 164 more than the second-place Skaardal.

In the overall standings, Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg expanded his margin over runner-up Alberto Tomba of Italy by finishing seventh Saturday, while the slalom specialist followed his custom of sitting out the speed events. Girardelli, seeking a record fifth World Cup overall championship, has 1,109 points to Tomba’s 692. Another Norwegian, Kjetil Andre Aamodt, is third with 666.

Norway, which has long been known for its Nordic competitors--cross-country skiers and ski jumpers--has not been this excited about Alpine racing since Stein Eriksen’s golden days in the 1950s. With the next Winter Olympics scheduled for Lillehammer, Norway, less than a year from now, Skaardal, 27, said the pressure is starting to build on him and his teammates, but added: “I’m not thinking about it now. We’re concentrating on the World Cup. After this season, we’ll start preparing for the pressure from the home crowd.”

Still another Norwegian, Jan Einar Thorsen, is favored to win today’s shorter super-G race, an event in which Skaardal and Aamodt are also proficient.

But it’s doubtful that even another victory will crowd the current World Nordic Ski Championships off page one of Oslo sports sections, according to Aamodt, who said: “Alpine skiing is big now, but it will never be bigger. After all, Norway is Nordic skiing.”

As for the Montana-born Tommy Moe, nothing has ever been bigger than his performance Saturday before an estimated 20,000, most of whom made the 60-mile journey from Vancouver. “It’s only fitting that we Americans do well on this continent,” he said, “because the Norwegians and Swiss and the others usually win in Europe, and it was especially great for me, to do it at home here in the Northwest.”