‘94 WINTER OLYMPICS / LILLEHAMMER : NOTEBOOK : Downhill Skier Moe Cautious Despite Confident Final Run

Unwilling to repeat Bill Johnson’s “called shot” in 1984, American skier Tommy Moe would not predict victory in today’s Olympic downhill at Kvitfjell.

But after finishing fourth in Saturday’s final training run, Moe is perhaps more confident than at any point in his career.

“I got it dialed in today,” he said after his run. “I still think I can go faster.”

Because many racers hold back in training, not wanting to tip their hands, practice runs are not normally a reliable indicator of who might win.

But fourth is always better than 40th. And there was no sand-bagging by Moe.

“It gives me good vibes,” he said. “I’m skiing real well right now. I wanted to treat this as a race.”

Before the downhill at the 1984 Sarajevo Games, Johnson told reporters that everyone else would be skiing for second.

Johnson’s confidence was always loud, whereas Moe’s is quiet.

“I’m not going to be looking to say I’m going to win the race,” he said. “There are 10 guys within 10 seconds (of his time).”

Not so sure of himself is AJ Kitt, Moe’s teammate, who finished 26th in his training run, then skied away, refusing to talk to reporters.

Kyle Rasmussen continued his steady work, finishing 14th Saturday, only two places below Luxembourg’s Marc Girardelli, one of the race favorites.

Italy’s Pietro Vitalini was fastest in the final training run with a time of 1:45.86, 0.12 seconds ahead of Norway’s Kjetil Andre Aamodt.

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Ski racers have trained most of the week under overcast skies, producing a backdrop known as “flat light.” They don’t like the condition because the haziness and lack of shadows make it difficult to read the contours of the course.

Earlier in the week, Kitt offered a comparison.

“It’s like driving 60 m.p.h. in fog with your high beams on--you slow down,” he said. “We get the same feeling, but we don’t slow down. It’s like skiing blind.”

Saturday, however, the sun made its first appearance of the week. If it shines on race day, it could drastically change conditions and racer confidence.

The weather remains cold, hovering around zero, generally making for a slower track.

“With the weather being that cold, you’ve got to have fast skis,” Moe said. “I think I’ve got them.”