Nowhere to Go but Downhill

The men’s Olympic downhill scheduled for today promises to be a mountain vs. man snow-down involving Ephraim’s Face, John Paul Traverse, Flintock Jump, four Austrians and maybe, just maybe, a guy named Daron.

This is the race, of course, Alpine’s Kentucky Derby, a roughly 100-second rough ride in which legends are born, myths are made and, in the case of Hermann Maier in Nagano, orbit is nearly achieved.

One can become a famous skier without winning an Olympic downhill, as the Austrian Maier proved with his Hakuba header, although finishing the race has always been the more preferable path.

For international skiers, winning the Olympic downhill has always been about validation--the crowning moment in a larger body of work.

For Americans, winning the downhill has been more about jingoism and one-shot, slingshot flings to fame.

Bill Johnson in 1984 and Tommy Moe, a decade later, became household words with their improbable Olympic downhill victories.

Daron Rahlves, a 28-year-old former Jet Ski champion from Truckee, Calif., hopes to similarly etch his edges into history.

There are more significant and harrowing races in the eyes of many ski racers, notably the annual downhill at Kitzbuehel, Austria.

Yet, winning the famed Hannenkamm does not exactly play in Peoria.

“Kitzbuehel is the ultimate race to win as a skier,” Rahlves said. “But as an American, to get recognized and get the rewards that come with being an elite athlete, it has to be done in the Olympics.

“Look at Tommy Moe. Everybody knows who Tommy Moe is. He won one [downhill] race. It was the Olympic downhill. People don’t even know what he did in super-G. He got second, that was incredible too. But I bet you if he just got silver in super-G, he wouldn’t be as well known.

“Picabo [Street] won the overall downhill title [twice], which is pretty big. Still, the reason she’s known is for the Olympic gold.”

Rahlves knows this is his shot and, oddly, the odds of pulling off an upset are not that long.

After posting a string of ho-hum World Cup results this season, Rahlves finished third in Friday’s training run.

Rahlves managed only a 16th-place finish in Saturday’s final practice run, though he said he was experimenting a bit with his line and technique.

“I’ll stick to the tactics I had the first day,” he said afterward.

The Grizzly course, designed by 1972 Olympic downhill champion Bernhard Russi, isn’t as hard-gulp frightening as Kitzbuehel, or as long as the 2.7-mile Lauberhorn in Wengen, Switzerland, yet this Olympic course is being hailed as a world-class track.

At 1.9 miles, it lacks the flats that tends to award “gliders.” Rather, it is a course that requires and rewards thought, bravery and technique.

At few points during the race will skiers not be leaning into their edges and fighting g-forces, a battle of physics that tends to favor a world-class super-G skier such as Rahlves.

The drop out of the start gate off Ephraim’s Face is Stephen King scary, with racers reaching speeds of 75 mph in less than 10 seconds. From there, it’s a ragged ride on right edges on John Paul Traverse, over Flintock Jump, a clean land at Bear Trap, a left turn at Trappers Loop, a setup at Slingshot to Buffalo Jump and then a drop down Rendezvous Face near the end, where speeds could exceed 85 mph.

Then, finally, a ferocious hockey stop once through the finish.

Rahlves is not, nor should he be, the race favorite.

To pull off this upset, he’ll have to outrace Austrian speed skiers Stephan Eberharter and Fritz Strobl. Also not to be overlooked is all-around star Kjetil Andre Aamodt of Norway, who has a record 15 Olympic and world championship medals.

Aamodt professed not to be a contender after finishing 19th in Saturday’s training run, but no one really believed him.

Austria is the ski team to beat, and not even a rash of injuries has slowed them.

Team Austria lost the Olympic services of Maier, the World Cup overall champion and winner of two gold medals in Nagano, to a motorcycle accident Aug. 24 in Radstadt, Austria. There were rumors late into the fall that Maier might make a Willis Reed-like appearance at Salt Lake, but Maier has not recovered sufficiently from the broken leg he suffered.

Joining Maier on the Austrian disabled list are Josef Strobl, a seven-time World Cup winner, Werner Franz, Rainer Salzgeber and Heinz Schilcheggar and slalom champion Mario Matt.

Yet, the Austrians have simply pushed the next bumper crop to the fore.

Despite the injuries, Austrians occupy eight of the top 12 spots in the World Cup downhill rankings and eight of the top 20 in the overall standings.

The good news for the Olympic field is that each country gets only four Olympic berths per discipline, meaning several Austrians will be asked to grab some chair lift bench while skiers without a snowball’s chance of winning--nothing personal, Angel Pumpalov of Bulgaria--get to lock boots into bindings at the start gate.

With Maier out, the Austrians are leaning heavily on Eberharter, 32.

Lost for years in the shadow of Maier, Eberharter has emerged as the sport’s premiere Alpine artist. He has already clinched the World Cup downhill title and is a cinch to supplant Maier as the overall champion.

Eberharter will also be a medal contender in super-G and giant slalom.

Much was expected from Eberharter when, at age 21 in 1991, he won world titles in super-G and combined. Eberharter was Austria’s rising young star before he fell into slump that led to his demotion in 1996.

He worked his way back onto the Austrian “A” team, only to find Maier had become the star. Many remember that Maier, after his horrendous downhill crash, rebounded to win the super-G and giant slalom.

Few remember that Eberharter took the silver in GS.

Last year, he finished second to Maier in the World Cup downhill and overall rankings.

“Everyone expects me to win the gold, but I know life can go a different way,” Eberharter said after Friday’s downhill training run. “Life goes on if I don’t win the gold.

“I really do enjoy the expectations. I don’t feel any pressure. If I don’t win, I have two more chances [in super-G and giant slalom].”