Americans Combine for More Surprises : Alpine skiing: Rasmussen finishes second in downhill portion of event, Moe third.

Back at the lodge, Austrians are dropping for pushups. Norwegians are glowering. The Swiss are on red yodel alert.

What is America doing on their leader boards?

Alpine skiing is rocking with what might be described as Tommy Moe-mentum, a burst of bravado that is taking a firm Olympic hold as Euro-racers hunt for ski technicians to blame.

Moe, who has already snatched the cherished Olympic downhill gold from the clutches of Europe’s finest, continued his runs of success Monday, at the same time inspiring teammates who gathered near.

In the first leg of the Olympic combined, an event in which the times of a separate downhill and slalom are added to determine a champion, American Kyle Rasmussen turned in the race of his life, finishing second to Norway’s Lasse Kjus, the gold-medal favorite.

Kjus won in 1 minute 36.95 seconds, only 0.01 faster than Rasmussen, who has never been in such rarefied air.

Moe, who got only five hours’ sleep after Gold Medal Sunday, finished third with a time of 1:36.96.

Unfortunately, the rest of the combined story cannot be told until Feb. 25, when downhill times will be figured in with those of a slalom at Hafjell.

And although the American position is impressive, claiming a medal will be no easy chore. Neither Moe nor Rasmussen is much of a slalom skier. Rasmussen, in fact, has not run a slalom this season.

Short of a collapse, Kjus, a good slalom skier, is destined for gold.

The other medal favorites remain Norway’s Kjetil Andre Aamodt, sixth in Monday’s downhill, and Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg, who finished seventh.

Both are world-class slalom racers who, at their best, figure to be seconds faster than either Moe or Rasmussen.

But slalom is a delicate discipline, wherein one mistake or missed gate means defeat.

“If one of those guys goes out, I want one of my guys there,” said Ueli Luthi, the U.S. men’s coach.

Moe has finished fourth in two combined events this year. Rasmussen has no track record in the event, but, like Moe’s, his confidence is suddenly soaring.

“I was actually a damn good slalom skier for a while,” Rasmussen said.

“But due to some back troubles, I’ve kind of let up on slalom. But I’ve got 10 days to train for it. I’ll be ready. I can ski slalom.”

Kyle who? For years, he wandered in the U.S. ski team’s twilight zone, a skier who never rose to his potential.

When Rasmussen got married four years ago and wife Linda soon had a baby son, Luthi figured Kyle’s racing days were numbered. Downhillers tend to get soft when they settle down.

But Rasmussen, 25, has used his family as motivation. No sense spending three months away from home every year for a bunch of 37th places.

“If I’m over here beating around the bush, enjoying myself but not getting anything done, that’s not fair to them,” Rasmussen said of his family. “This is a sport, and I’m trying to make a living out of it.”

Rasmussen, who lives in Angels Camp, Calif., about an hour’s drive east of Stockton, already has had a career-best season with six top-20 finishes on the World Cup tour.

Sunday, he placed 11th in the Olympic downhill, his highest finish in international competition.

More important, his performance in Monday’s combined downhill, which measured 206 meters shorter than the Olympic downhill, suddenly makes Rasmussen a serious threat for Thursday’s Super G.

“I’m married and have two kids, but I’m still not old,” Rasmussen said. “Some people think that’s old and over the hill, but I’m starting to peak. Sometimes it takes downhillers until 25 or 26 to peak. I’m on the verge of a breakthrough, and I’m going to do it any time.”

He’d better. Linda Rasmussen told Kyle that if he didn’t do well in combined downhill, she didn’t want him stranded in Lillehammer an extra week just to compete in the slalom.

But now that Kyle is a medal contender . . .

Still, being away is difficult. The couple recently had another child, Kayley Ann, born Jan. 13.

Linda needs his help.

“She misses me and it’s hard,” Rasmussen said. “I call her sometimes and she wants me to be home and wishes she had a normal family life and a husband. But days like this make it worthwhile, and she’ll understand that. We have the rest of our lives to spend together.”

Moe, meanwhile, somehow survived the excitement Sunday and lived to ski again.

“I’ve shaken about 150 hands already this morning,” he said after his combined run. “It’s just part of the deal. I almost kind of get tired of it after a while, but I try to be gracious. I congratulate other people when they win. I think what goes around comes around.”

Moe’s lack of sleep didn’t seem to affect his skiing. He is being powered by adrenaline and success. He contends that his chances for a medal in combined are as good as anybody’s.

He believes in Moe-mentum.

“Fame is great,” he said. “I’m all for it. As much as I can get.”